LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

Ula P- - Copyright No 

Shelf___^X$ 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



A- 1ST AID 



TO THE 



Heidelberg Catechism 



REV. OTTO THELEMAXN, 

1 1 

Detmold, Germany. 



TRANSLATED BY 



REV. M. PETERS, A. M v B. D., 

Professor of New Testament Literature and Exegesis in the Ursinus School 
of Theology. 



READING, PA.: 

JAMES I. GOOD, D. D , PUBLISHER. 
1 8 9 6. 



It L1B* A * 1 
[*? C0NGRB8*! 

[WASHINGTON, 



TWO COPIES RECEIVED. 

Library of C. Bgre i % 
Office of the . , 

DEC 8 - T899 

"•gUJer of Copyrtghf* 



48682 

Copyright, 
1892, 

by JAMES I. GOOD. 



SECOND COPY, 



TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE 



It is with peculiar pleasure that this translation of 
Rev. Thelemaim's excellent commentary on the Hei- 
delberg Catechism* is offered to the American Churches. 
The time and labor required for the preparation of the 
translation are an offering of love to the symbol of faith 
which has been acknowledged as the flower of the Ref- 
ormation period, and to the Reformed Church in the 
United States, in whose midst it still holds undisputed 
sway. 

Thelemanu's Commentary is believed to be a faithful 
representation of the doctrines and truths which con- 
stitute the heritage of the Reformed Churches, and to 
which most of these churches are still devoted in faith- 
ful allegiance and loyalty of heart. It is hoped that 
the translation may prove a blessing and an inspira- 
tion to a large number of pastors and members of the 
English-speaking Reformed Churches. 

The doctrines of the Reformed Church have found 
wide acceptance in many lands, and they have been a 
tower of strength against tyrants and despots in Church 
and State. The type of doctrine which is character- 
istic of the Reformed Churches in all lands has been 
the means of making heroes and martyrs in the war- 
fare of faith, and these truths, consecrated by the suf- 
ferings and blood of many faithful witnesses, are left 

* Hand.reichimg zum Heidelberger Katechismus fiir Prediger, 
Lehrer und Gemeindeelieder, von Otto Thelemann, V. D. M., Kon- 
sistorialrat in Detmold, zweite, durchgesehene und erweiterte Auf- 
lage. Detmold, 1892. Yerlag von C. Schenk (M. Ihle). 



IV 



TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. 



to the Church as a priceless legacy. The Reformed 
Church will hold in undying remembrance the labors 
of Zwingli and Calvin, Frederick the Pious and his 
co-laborers, and of the host of those who have labored 
to establish the Church upon the immovable founda- 
tion of the pure Word of God. 

A few of the passages quoted in the Commentary 
(from Ursinus and Olevianus), especially at the begin- 
ning of the volume, were omitted, because it was feared 
the work would become too large, and because they 
were accessible to English readers. But with these 
exceptions the quotations have been faithfully given. 

Special acknowledgments are due to President Henry 
T. Spangler, of Ursinus College, for faithful assistance 
in revising the copy of the translation from month to 
month. M. PETERS. 

COLEEGEYILLE, Pa., 

Febeuary 20, 1896. 



i 



AUTSOR'S PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 



" But speaking the truth in love, 
may grow up into him in all things, 
which is the head, even Christ : 
From whom the whole body fitly 
joined together and compacted by 
that which every joint supplieth, 
according to the effectual working 
in the measure of every part, mak- 
eth increase of the body unto the 
edifying of itself in love." Eph. 4 : 
15, 16. 

For more than twenty years the wish has often been 
expressed to me, both by pastors and teachers, that I 
should prepare a practical exposition of the Heidelberg 
Catechism, the need of which has been sensibly felt. 
As I did not wish to lay down my work without ful- 
filling the promise which I had allowed myself to 
make at different times, and without rendering this 
service to my beloved Reformed Church, I have 
employed, daring the last two years, such leisure as I 
could command in the midst of laborious official duties 
in working out this " Commentary." It is intended to 
serve only as an aid, nothing more and nothing less. 
And any one who uses it, must decide for himself what 
will answer his purpose, the teacher for school instruc- 
tion, the minister for catechetical instruction and for 
sermons on the catechism. I have also kept in mind 
our Reformed candidates for the ministry who do not 
come in contact with the Heidelberg Catechism at the 
university, as well as the members of the Church who 
desire to inform themselves more fully as to what is 



VI 



PREFACE. 



Reformed in doctrine and practice, and how both these 
are grounded in the Word of God. I trust especially 
that the book may be of service to brethren scattered 
here and there in building themselves up in knowledge 
and in true piety, which can not be done by temporarily 
exciting the feelings, but consists in establishing one's 
faith upon the only ground of our salvation, just as in 
building one stone is joined to another. 

Only a few words with reference to the plan of the 
book. 

The text of the questions and answers is based upon 
that of the first edition of the catechism published in 
1563, adapted in its phraseology to modern modes of 
speech, as is done in the editions prepared for the 
schools of to-day. 

The questions are followed by an explanation of spe- 
cial words and expressions, a short statement of the 
contents of the answer and an analysis of the text in 
the form of questions and answers. 

The end kept in view in the explanations is to set 
forth both the substance of the doctrines of the cate- 
chism and their biblical foundations. The earlier cus- 
tom of arranging comments in the form of questions 
and answers has not been followed, nor have I wrought 
them out in the form of ready-made outlines for cate- 
chizing, as many might desire ; but they follow the 
line of thought of the questions of the catechism. It 
will not be difficult for each teacher to work out his 
own outlines, a work from which he must not shrink 
if he wishes to enter into the inner spirit of the cate- 
chism. Under some of the questions special hints are 
given for their explanation. 

The proof texts cited include nearly all of those 
used in the earliest editions, and are limited to the 
most important points, in order that as far as possible 
they may be printed in full. Only familiar or lengthy 



PREFACE. 



VII 



passages are abbreviated. For the correct understand- 
ing of the passages cited, explanations are frequently 
added, and, after the manner of the earliest editions of 
the catechism, the literal rendering of important pas- 
sages is also given (with the remark, " rendered liter- 
ally"). Appropriate illustrations from Biblical history 
are indicated at important points, while numerous cita- 
tions from Reformed Church history are introduced. 

It is hoped that the numerous quotations from the 
writings of Ursinus and Olevianus, Calvin and other 
Reformed teachers, as well as from Luther and the 
ancient Church fathers, will prove an acceptable addi- 
tion to the book. As I stand in the fullest and most 
perfect accord, both from conviction and experience, 
with the authors of the catechism, Ursinus and Olevia- 
nus, in relation to the creed of the Church, reformed 
according to God's Word, so my explanations of the 
catechism are true to the spirit and sense of their 
work, as is proved by the quotations from their Latin 
and German writings. I cite these, however, chiefly 
because the authors of the catechism are naturally the 
best, and have not yet been surpassed as, interpreters 
of the same. At the same time the selections develop 
more fully the brief explanations which I have given, 
and will serve to restore to the Church the rich inheri- 
tance which it possesses in the writings of these men. 

As the introduction sets forth the characteristics, and 
contains a synopsis, of the catechism, so the appendix 
furnishes a history of the same and a guide for its use. 

May the Lord cause His blessing to attend this 
exposition to the instruction and edification of His 
Reformed Church, as it seemeth good in His sight. 

Detmold, Oct, 18, 1887. 

O. Thelemato. 



VIII 



PREFACE. 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. 



The first edition of this book has enjoyed the signal 
favor of God, and has been accorded a very friendly 
reception. It has been extensively reviewed by the 
newspapers of Germany and of other countries (Hol- 
land, Bohemia, Hungary, Switzerland, North America, 
Cape Colony), and I have received many personal let- 
ters of approval. In the second edition no important 
changes have been made, except that Question 44 has 
been rewritten, and the explanation of several doctri- 
nal points has been extended. 

May the Lord, to whose service the book is dedi- 
cated, preside over its destinies as it again goes forth, 
and bless it wherever it may be used. 

Detmold, October, 1891. O. T. 



INTRODUCTION. 



IX 



INTRODUCTION. 



Outline and Structure of the Catechism. 

A Christian catechism is a book of instruction in the 
doctrines pertaining to the truths of salvation in the 
form of conferences between teacher and scholar.* 
Ursiuus defines it as follows : "A Christian catechism 
is a brief and clear explanation of Christian doctrine, 
adapted to the intellectual capacity of the uninstrueted, 
drawn from the writings of the prophets and apostles, 
.and divided into definite questions and answers." 

In the preface to his Geneva Catechism, which in 
part was made the basis of the Heidelberg Catechism, 
Calvin says: "In the Church careful provision has 
always been made for the proper instruction of chil- 
dren in Christian doctrine. To facilitate the work, 
not only were schools established in earlier days and 
every one commanded to instruct his household, but it 
has also become a custom to question the children pub- 
licly in the church on the points of doctrine which all 
Christians hold in common and with which they must 
be familiar. To make this work systematic, a pre- 
scribed form has been prepared, called catechism or 
instruction." In the dedication of his catechism " to 
the faithful ministers who preach the pure doctrine of 
the Gospel in East Friesland," he writes (1545) : " It 
would not only be desirable that perfect unanimity as 
to the doctrines of salvation should prevail every- 
where, but also that all Churches should use the same 
catechism. But as for various reasons it can scarcely 
ever be expected that every Church should be willing 
to give up its particular form, there is no use in dis- 

* The word " catechism" is derived from the Greek word mean- 
ing "to sound back," the root of which is "echo," resound, and 
means, " to instruct, to teach." 



X 



INTRODUCTION. 



puting about the matter. Only let the diversity in the 
instruction be sufficiently guarded, that we all may 
be led to the one Christ, and being bound to one 
another by His truth, may be united into one body and 
in one spirit, so that we shall proclaim with united 
voice the cardinal doctrines of the faith." 

Although the wish of Calvin was only approxi- 
mately attained, its fulfillment was most nearly reached 
by means of the Heidelberg Catechism, which was 
accepted as a book of instruction for youth, not only 
in all German-speaking Reformed churches (outside of 
Germany, especially in German Switzerland, and later 
in North America) and in the churches of the Nether- 
lands, but in the Reformed Synod of Dort (1618) it 
also received the sanction of the Reformed churches of 
all lands. And it may be truly said that the Geneva 
Catechism is surpassed by the Heidelberg, although 
the latter is based upou the former. 

The answers of our catechism, by means of which 
the contents of the faith are set forth, based altogether 
upon the Word of God, presuppose a believing and 
experienced Christian. While on the one hand cate- 
chumens must be repeatedly cautioned against apply- 
ing to themselves without further consideration every 
answer expressed in the first person, yet on the other 
hand this form is best adapted to lead the children to 
the knowledge and experience of faith and to confirm 
them therein. This method reaches not only the 
understanding, but also the heart. And many of the 
answers may very easily be changed into prayers. In 
this way the catechism combines the devotional ele- 
ment with its instruction. It is not a popularized sys- 
tem of dogmatics, but a thoroughly practical book for 
the people, resting upon the Word of God, which is 
adapted to bring them to the ripest knowledge and 
experience, and yet may be easily understood by every 
one. 



INTRODUCTION. 



xr 



In the outline the five so-called principal parts form 
the main heads. The order in which they stand is 
determined by the practical order in which they come 
forward in the experiences of the Christian life. The 
parts of Luther's Catechism are as follows : 1. The 
Ten Commandments, 2. The Creed, 3. The Lord's 
Prayer, 4. The Sacraments. In the Geneva Cate- 
chism Calvin follows this order : 1. The Creed, 2. 
The Ten Commandments, 3. Prayer, 4. The Word of 
God, 5. The Sacraments. The arrangement of the 
Heidelberg Catechism is the simplest : 1. Sin, 2. De- 
liverance, 3. Thankfulness. The Creed and the Sac- 
raments are treated under the second head ; the Ten 
Commandments and the Lord's Prayer under the 
third head. The first part is intended to bring about 
a knowledge of sin and a desire for salvation. With 
fine perception Christ's summary of the law is made 
the basis and not the decalogue with its ten individual 
commandments. In the second part, in connection 
with the Apostles' Creed, an exposition is given of the 
facts of redemption in their objective and subjective 
significance, to which is added the doctrine of the sac- 
raments, by which the faith that is wrought through 
the proclamation of salvation is confirmed. The third 
part treats of the Ten Commandments and of prayer, 
through which the life of faith becomes manifest, exer- 
cises itself and grows. The subject of repentance or 
the conversion of man, as the beginning of the new 
life, is very properly assigned to this part, after the 
doctrine of the knowledge of sin, faith and justification 
has been treated. From the standpoint of complete- 
ness it might be considered an omission that the 
doctrine of the Word of God has not been given a 
place as in Calvin's Catechism. But the authors evi- 
dently considered it unnecessary to give an exposition 
under a special head of the nature and authority of the 



XII 



INTRODUCTION, 



Word of God, which is not only set forth as the 
ground and rule of Christian faith and life in the body 
of the catechism (Questions 19, 21, 65, 91), but is also 
the indispensable foundation of it. A tree that is 
green and bears fruit, itself gives proof of the sound- 
ness of its roots, and a house that defies all storms, 
itself gives proof of the firmness of its foundation. 

The structure of the catechism becomes apparent 
from the following outline, in which use is made of 
the old division into Lord's Days. 



OUILIXE. 

I. Lord's Day. Man's only comfort, and how we 
may become partakers of the same. (Q. 1-2. 

THE FIRST PART 

Of the Misery of Man. 

II. Lord's Day. We learn to know our misery from 
the law of God, which is comprehended in the law of 
love, which, however, we are by nature not able to 
keep. (Q. 3-5.) 

III. Lord's Day. God is not the cause of this 
misery, but our first parents Adam and Eve, through 
whose fall the whole human family has become totally 
depraved. (Q. 6-8.) 

IV. Lord's Day. Therefore God justly requires that 
His law be kept, and justly punishes the transgressions 
of the same both temporally and eternally ; and His 
justice cannot be set aside by His mercy. (Q. 9-11.) 

THE SECOND PART, 

Of Man's Deliverance. 

V. Lord's Day. The justice of God mnst therefore 
be satisfied. This we neither can do ourselves, nor can 



INTRODUCTION. 



XIII 



any other creature do it for us, but He only who is 
very God and very man and perfectly righteous. 
(Q. 12-15.) 

VI. Lord's Day. That He may take the punish- 
ment upon Himself, He must be very man ; that He 
may bear the burden of it, He must be very God; 
this Mediator is Jesus Christ, as is declared by the 
Gospel under the Old and New Covenant. (Q. 16-19.) 

VII. Lord's Day. In Him we become righteous 
only by true faith, the chief articles of which are com- 
prehended in our Catholic, undoubted Christian faith. 
(Q. 20-23.) 

VIII. Lord's Day. This confession of faith is divided 
into three parts, and is a confession of the Triune God. 
(Q. 24-25.) 

Of God the Father. 

IX. Lord's Day. Almighty God, the Father of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, is also my God and my Father. 
(Q. 26.) 

X. Lord's Day. By His Providence God upholds 
and governs the world, on account of which I may 
find comfort in every circumstance of life. (Q. 27-28.) 

Of God the Son. 

XI. Lord's Day. Jesus is our only and complete 
Savior. (Q. 29-30.) 

XII. Lord's Day. Jesus is the Christ, i. e.,,He is 
anointed to be our Prophet, Priest and King. True 
Christians are also anointed, and as His members have 
a part in the threefold office of Christ. (Q. 31-32.) 

XIII. Lord's Day. Jesus is God's only begotten 
Son, because He is God of God and my Lord, because 
He has purchased me with His blood to be His own- 
property. (Q. 33-34.) 

XIV. Lord's Day. He is the sinless Son of Man r 
because He was conceived by the Holy Ghost and born 



:xev 



INTRODUCTION. 



of the Virgin Mary, and lias thereby delivered us from 
the sin in which we were born. (Q. 35-36.1 

XV. Lords' Day. As the only propitiatory sacrifice, 
He sustained in body and soul the wrath of God 
against the sins of mankind; innocently, as certified 
by His gentile judge ; on the cross, to assure us that 
He has taken on Him the curse which lav on us. 
(Q. 37-39. i 

XVI. Lord's Day. It was necessary for Christ to 
suffer death that He mi^ht satisfv for our sins ; that 
He was really dead, is certified by His burial. Through 
His death our temporal death has become a passage 
into eternal life, and we receive power to die unto sin 
in this life. All fear of hell, which we deserved on 
account of our sins. He has taken awav from us. 
( Q. 40-44. | 

XVII. Lord's Day. The resurrection of Christ gives 
us the victory over death in its three forms : bodily, 
spiritual and eternal. (Q. 45.) 

XVIII. Lord's Day. Christ ascended bodily into 
heaven, and yet with His spirit He is present with 
His own everywhere and at all times without the 
separation of the two natures in Christ; His glorified 
body in heaven and His spirit on earth are a pledge 
of our salvation. (Q. 46-49.) 

XIX. Lord's Day. His exaltation as our Head is 
of profit to us, His members, whom He will make par- 
takers of His heavenly glory by the resurrection of the 
body and the establishment of His kingdom when He 
will come again to judge the world. (Q. 50-52. ) 

Of God the Holy Ghost. 

XX. Lord's Day. The Holy Ghost is true God and 
accomplishes our salvation. (Q. 53.) 

XXI. Lord's Day. The Holy Ghost gathers the 
elect into the Church of Christ from the beginning 



INTRODUCTION. 



xv 



unto the end of the world. All the sanctified in Christ 
become partakers of His gifts in the Church through 
the Holy Ghost, and are assured of the forgiveness of 
their sins. (Q. 54-56.) 

XXII. Lord's Day. After the souls of believers 
have been immediately taken up to Christ in death, 
the body will again be raised in glory, and reunited 
with the soul, will attain to the enjoyment of perfect 
salvation, the beginning of which we already expe- 
rience in this life. (Q. 57-58.) 

XXIII. Lord's Day. By faith I am righteous 
before God, notwithstanding the sin in which I was 
born and which still cleaves to me ; but not on account 
of the worthiness of my faith. (Q. 59-61.) 

XXIV. Lord's Day. Although good works which 
proceed from faith do not merit anything in the sight 
of God, yet God has graciously promised to reward 
them. This doctrine does not make men careless, but 
rather careful. (Q. 62-64.) 

Of the Holy Sacraments. 

XXV. Lord's Day. By the use of the sacraments 
the Holy Ghost confirms the faith wrought through 
the Word of God. They are signs and seals of the 
grace secured for us by the sacrifice of Christ. Christ 
has instituted only two sacraments, holy baptism and 
the holy supper. (Q. 65-68.) 

Of Holy Baptism. 

XXVI. Lord's Day. Baptism reminds us of and 
seals to us the cleansing of the soul from sin by the 
blood of Christ and renewal by the Holy Ghost, of 
which the words of Christ and His apostles assure us. 
(Q. 69-71.) 

XXVII. Lord's Day. Not by water, but by the 
blood and spirit of Christ the soul is cleansed from sin 



XVI 



INTRODUCTION. 



in baptism ; and children are also to be received into 
the covenant of grace bv the seal of baptism. (Q, 
72-74.) 

Of the Holy Supper. 

XXVIII. Lord's Day. In the holy supper the 
blessing of the sacrifice of Christ is assured and sealed 
to us ; it rests upcn the command and promise of 
Christ to believers. By partaking of it in faith, we 
are spiritually united with the Godhead and the 
humanity of the glorified Christ, as He Himself and 
His apostles testify. (Q. 75-77.) 

XXIX. Lord's Day. The bread and the wine are 
not changed | transubstantiation), nor does Christ unite 
Himself bodily with bread and wine (consubstantia- 
tion) ; and yet we become partakers of His body and 
blood, viz. through the operation of the Holv Ghost. 
(Q. 78-79.) 

XXX. Lord's Day. The popish mass is a denial 
of the one sacrifice of Christ and an idolatry. 

Only those who are truly sorrowful for their sins 
and who desire to become more holy are to come to the 
Lord's table; those who declare themselves infidels 
and ungodlv are to be excluded from it bv the power 
of the keysf (Q. 80-82.) 

XXXI. Lord's Day. By the power of the keys 
the kingdom of heaven is opened to believers and shut 
against unbelievers by the appointed officers of the 
church, according to the command of Christ, by the 
preaching of the Gospel and Christian discipline. (Q. 
83-85.) 

THE THIRD PART. 
Of Thankfulness. 

XXXII. Lord's Day. By our renewal into the 
imas;e of God we are enabled, and in order to show our 
gratitude for the blessings of Christ it is our duty, to 



INTRODUCTION. 



XVII 



do good works ; otherwise we cannot inherit the king- 
dom of God. (Q. 86-87.) 

XXXIII. Lord's Day. The new life which mani- 
fests itself in doing good works has its beginning in 
conversion, which consists in the mortification of the 
old and the quickening of the new man. The rule by 
which we are to be governed in doing good works is 
the law of God, as contained in the Ten Command- 
ments. (Q. 88-92.) 

XXXIV. Lord's Day. The Ten Commandments 
are divided into two tables : Our duties toward God 
and toward our neighbor. 

The first command treats of the majesty of God and 
forbids all idolatry, both gross and refined. (Q. 93-95.) 

XXXV. Lord's Day. The second command treats 
of the being of God, and forbids all false worship of 
the true God. (Q. 96-98.) 

XXXVI. Lord's Day. The third command relates 
to the name of God and forbids its misuse, especially 
by cursing and swearing, as gross sin. (Q. 99-100.) 

XXXVII. Lord's Day. Yet Christians may take 
a lawful oath in the name of God. (Q. 101-102.) 

XXXVIII. Lord's Day. The fourth command has 
reference to the Lord's Day, and commands us to hal- 
low it by resting from earthly labor and by activity in 
heavenly things. (Q. 103.) 

XXXIX. Lord's Day. The fifth command, with 
which the second table begins, refers to parents as 
those who are nearest to us among our fellowmen ; it 
commands us to show honor, love, fidelity, obedience 
and patience toward them and all in authority. (Q. 
104.) 

XL. Lord's Day. The sixth command forbids us 
to injure our neighbor in body or life, whether it be by 
gross or refined murder; and commands us to love our 
neighbor, even our enemy. (Q. 105-107.) 



XVIII 



INTRODUCTION. 



XLI. Lord's Day. The seventh command forbids 
all unchastity, both in and out of wedlock, in thought, 
word and act. (Q. 108-109.) 

XLII. Lord's Day. The eighth command forbids 
us to injure our neighbor in his property, either by 
trickery or by force, or under the appearance of right, 
and commands us to further our neighbor's prosperity 
in every lawful way. (Q. 110-111.) 

XLIII. Lord's Day. The ninth command forbids 
all sins of the tongue against our neighbor. (Q. 112.) 

XLIV. Lord's Day. The tenth command forbids 
every evil thought, first in our relations to our neigh- 
bor, secondly also in relation to all the commands of 
God ; and teaches us that the lust which dwells in our 
flesh is really sinful in the sight of God. 

Although even the holiest men cannot fully keep 
these commands, yet God requires them of us that we 
may more and more seek the forgiveness of our sins 
and strive earnestly to attain the goal of perfection. 
(Q. 113-115.) 

Of Prayer. 

XLV. Lord's Day. Prayer is the chief part of 
thankfulness. It will be heard only when it is addressed 
to the one true God and proceeds from an humble 
heart, and is offered in full reliance upon the promise 
of God. We are to pray for all spiritual and bodily 
needs, as the model prayer of our Lord teaches us. 
(Q. 116-119.) 

XLVI. Lord's Day. The address, " Our Father," 
is to awaken in us childlike fear and trust, and the 
addition, " which art in heaven," is to remind us of 
the majesty of God. (Q. 120-121.) 

XLVII. Lord's Day. The first petition : that the 
name of God may be hallowed in us and through us. 
(Q. 122.) 

XLV1II. Lord's Day. The second petition : that 
God may rule us, establish His kingdom until the full 



INTRODUCTION. 



XIX 



perfection of His kingdom shall take place in glory. 
(Q. 123.) 

XLIX. Lord's Day. The third petition : that God 
would help us to renounce our own will aud to joyfully 
obey His will. (Q. 124.) 

L. Lord's Day. The fourth petition : for bodily 
needs, and for the blessing of God upon our labor. 
(Q. 125.) 

LI. Lord's Day. The fifth petition : for the for- 
giveness of our sins and all evil that cleaves to us. 
(Q. 126.) 

LII. Lord's Day. The sixth petition : for strength 
in the conflict with evil and with the evil one. 

The conclusion of our prayer relates to the praise of 
God our King, who can and will give us all good. 
Such confidence is sealed by the word amen, i. e., it 
shall truly and certainly be. (Q. 127-129.) 



The excellence of the Heidelberg Catechism is not 
only attested by its general acceptance and use, but 
every age has furnished special acknowledgments of 
indebtedness to it and testimonials of its worth. 

Two princes openly and publicly expressed allegiance 
to it. The pious Elector Frederick III. of the Palati- 
nate, in his defence before the Emperor and the realm 
at the Diet of Augsburg, used the following words : 
"As far as my catechism is concerned, I am committed 
to it. It is fortified in the margin by proof texts from 
the Holy Scriptures to such an extent that i t must stand 
immovable, and it is my hope that by the help of God 
it may continue so to stand." 

The faithful King Frederick William I. of Prussia, 
in the regulations which he issued Nov. 9, 1717, gives 
the following direction : " That in all the evangelical 



XX 



INTRODUCTION. 



churches and schools of my dominions there shall be 
used and taught no other catechism than the Heidel- 
berg Catechism, to which I myself hold allegiance." 

The Synod of Dort (1618), representing the Re- 
formed churches of all lands, approved and unani- 
mously declared : " That the doctrine embraced in the 
Palatinate Catechism is in accordance with the Word 
of God, and that it contains nothing which on the 
ground of dissonance with the Word of God needs to 
be altered or amended, and that it is also an exceed- 
ingly correct hand-book of sound Christian doctrine, 
adapted with special skill not only to the capacity of 
youths, but also to adults." 

Eminent theologians have given it their highest 
praise. 

Henry Bullinger (d. 1575), antistes and successor of 
Zwingli at Zurich, wrote in 1563, soon after the appear- 
ance of the book : " The catechism of the illustrious 
Lord and Elector Frederick I have read with great 
interest, and in reading it I have heartily thanked God 
that the work which he commenced through Frederick 
has been crowned with success. The arrangement of 
the book is comprehensive, the doctrines are set forth 
in their purity and in accordance with the truth. 
Everything is clear and edifying. Its rich contents 
are put together in compact form. I am confident that 
no better catechism has made its appearance. God's 
name be praised for it. May He grant it abundant 
success." — David Pareus, Professor at Heidelberg (d. 
1622), calls it a " golden book," and says that " it is 
the general opinion of pious persons that there could 
scarcely be another catechism prepared that is so firmly 
grounded upon the Word of God. so clearly arranged, 
so perfectly finished and so uniformly adapted to the 
intellectual capacity of adults and of youth, as is the 
Palatinate or Heidelberg Catechism." 



INTRODUCTION. 



xxr 



The judgment of Henry Alting, Professor at Hei- 
delberg and Groningen (d. 1644), was, "that the Hei- 
delberg Catechism is at the same time milk for babes 
and strong meat for adults." — When the delegation of 
English Theologians returned home from the Synod 
of Dort, they said: "Our Reformed brethren on the 
continent have a small book, the Heidelberg Catechism, 
whose single leaves are worth more than tons of gold." 

Although the catechism was attacked most bitterly 
by Lutheran Theologians when it first appeared, it 
nevertheless found recognition later even in these cir- 
cles. Benthem (d. 1723), the Theologian of Luene- 
berg, writes as follows : " Excepting the peculiar doc- 
trine of Calvin contained in it, I must confess that the 
boast of the Reformed is well founded, that Ursinus 
excelled himself in the preparation of the catechism 
as much as in all his other writings he excelled all 
their other theologians. The arrangement of the cate- 
chism under the three heads of Man's Misery, Deliver- 
ance and Thankfulness corresponds to the facts. The 
questions are well drawn up and the answers are clear, 
the proof texts are choice and the arrangement of divi- 
sions into Lord's Days is edifying." 

Let us conclude with the testimony of two modern 
theologians. The judgment of Max Goebel (d. 1857) 
was as follows : " The Heidelberg Catechism may be 
regarded in the truest sense of the word as the flower 
and fruit of the entire German and French Reforma- 
tion. It combines in it Lutheran fervor, Melanch- 
thonian clearness, Zwinglian simplicity and Calvinian 
fire." In the preface to the edition of the Heidelberg 
Catechism prepared in 1850 for St. Stephen's church 
in Bremen, Frederick Mallet (d. 1865) says: "No- 
catechism has appeared since the time of the Reforma- 
tion, which can be compared with the Heidelberg 
Catechism, either as to form or contents. It is a book 



XXII 



INTRODUCTION. 



alike for the people and for the learned ; it is popular, 
as well as doctrinal. The scholar will find in it a pre- 
sentation of the entire doctrinal system of the Evan- 
gelical Reformed Church. As a devotional book it is 
adapted both to the educated and uneducated, and 
shines with the light of divine truth upon the human 
heart and upon human life. At the same time this 
catechism is both polemical and irenical, a warrior and 
a peace maker. It so expresses the truth that false- 
hood appears clearly as falsehood, and that it is irre- 
concilable with the truth. At the same time it is so 
irenical, it so loves and seeks peace, and so mediates 
between those who agree on the main doctrines, that if 
it had not been for the pride and obstinacy of learned 
theologians and their imitators, it would have become 
long since the formula of concord of the entire Evan- 
gelical Church." 



INDEX. 



Question 1 


Page 1 


Question 30 


Page 113 




■2 


" 6 


a 


O 1 

ol 


a 


1117 

117 


Part L- 


-The Misery of Man. Pa- 
ges 8-48. 


a 
a 
a 


09 

OQ 
OO 

O/l 

o4 


a 
a 
a 


1 OA 
1Z4 

1 OA 

loO 
lo4 


Question 3 


Page 8 


a 


00 


a 


loo 


a 


4 


" 12 


a 


oa 
OO 


a 


1 A O 

14o 


a 


5 


" 17 


a 


07 
1 O i 


a 


1 A Q 

14o 


u 


6 


" 21 


a 


OQ 
OO 


a 


1 KA 

104 


ce 


7 


" 25 


a 


on 

oy 


a 


lob 


a 


8 


" 36 


a 


A f\ 


a 


1 Kft 

loy 


a 


9 


" 39 


u 


A 1 


a 


1 £?A 

loO 


a 


10 


" 41 


a 


A O 

4z 


a 


i a a 
1d4 


a 


11 


" 45 


a 


A O 

4o 


a 


lob 


Part H. 


- Man's Deliverance. Pa- 
ges 48-304. 


a 
a 
a 


A A 

44 

A K 
40 

a a 
4b 


a 
a 
a 


i a o 
Ibo 

1 71 

171 

1 77 

in 


Question 12 


Page 49 


a 


A 7 

4/ 


a 


i / y 


a 


13 


" 51 


a 


A Q 

4o 


a 


1 7ft 

i / y 


a 


14 


" 52 


a 


A ft 

4y 


a 


1 OO 

loo 


it 


15 


" 53 


a 


50 


a 


186 


it 


16 


" 55 


a 


51 


a 


190 


it 


17 


" 55 


a 


52 


a 


194 


a 


18 


" 56 


a 


53 


a 


201 


a 


19 


" 59 


tt 


54 


it 


209 


a 


20 


" 73 


a 


55 


a 


218 


a 


21 


" 76 


a 


56 


a 


221 


a 


22 


" 81 


a 


57 


a 


224 


a 


23 


" 82 


a 


58 


a 


229 


a 


24 


" 83 


a 


59 


a 


231 


a 


25 


" 83 


a 


60 


a 


233 


a 


26 


" 92 


a 


61 


it 


236 


a 


27 


" 102 


a 


62 


a 


237 


a 


28 


" 106 


a 


63 


a 


239 


a 


29 


" 110 


a 


64 


a 


240 



XXIV 



INDEX. 



Question 65 


Pace 242 


On potion 


Pacrp aOl] 


u 


U'3 


" 245 


" 97 


" 355 


u 


fi7 


" 248 


u 98 


" 358 


a 


Do 


" 249 


" 99 


« 360 


u 


U J 


" 251 


" 100 


" 360 


u 


70 


" 254 


" 101 


" 364 


u 


71 


" 255 


" 102 


" 364 


u 


79 


" 257 


" 103 


" 368 


u 


I o 


" 258 


" 104 


" 376 


a 


74 


" 259 


« 105 


" 380 


a 


75 


" 267 


" 106 


" 380 


u 




u 979 


" 107 


" 380 




77 


" 274 


" 108 


" 387 


a 


78 




" 109 




a 


79 


" 294 


" 110 


" 392 


U 


80 


" 295 


" 111 


" 392 


a 


81 


" 297 


" 112 


" 397 


a 


82 


« 301 


" 113 


" 400 


a 


83 


" 302 


" 114 


« 402 


a 


84 


" 303 


" 115 


" 403 


u 


85 


" 304 


" 116 


" 405 








" 117 
" 118 
" 119 


" 410 


Part m.- 


-Of Thankfulness. Pa- 
ges 311-446. 


" 415 
" 415 


Question 86 


Page 312 


" 120 


" 418 


u 


87 


" 316 


" 121 


" 418 




88 


" 317 


a 222 


" 420 


a 


89 


" 325 


" 123 


" 422 


u 


90 


" 325 


" 124 


u 4 27 


u 


91 


" 329 


" 125 


" 430 


u 


92 


" 332 


" 126 


" 433 


U 


93 


" 339 


" 127 


" 436 


a 


94 


" 341 


" 128 


« 442 


ft 


95 


" 341 


" 129 


" 445 



Tiie Heidelberg Catechism. 



THE ONLY COMFORT. 



Question 1. 

What is thy only comfort in life and death f 

Answer. That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am 
not my own, but belong unto my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who 
with his precious blood hath fully satisfied for all my sins, and de- 
livered me from all the power of the devil ; and so preserves me 
that, without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall 
from my head ; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salva- 
tion : and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal 
life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready henceforth to live unto 
him. 

I. IN WHAT TRUE COMFORT CONSISTS. 

1. Man, ever since sin came into the world, and because 
of sin, is subject to the miseries of life (Gen. 3 : 16-19 ; 
pain — grief — thorn and thistles — sweat of the brow), 
and to the terrors of death (Job 18 : 14, the king of 
terrors ; Heb. 2 : 15, fear of death ; Heb. 10 : 27, a 
fearful looking for of judgment). So both body and 
soul suffer because they are bound together. The great- 
est misery is the misery of sin. 

2. Over against all this, we need comfort, both in life 
and death. Gen. 5 : 29, Isa. 38 : 17, Ps. 25 : 17, Ps. 
116: 3. 

3. Comfort is a calming, a stirring to life, a setting 
upright of soul, in which, however, we are sensible of 
the pains and needs of the body. Matt. 11 : 28-30. 

4. False comfort is sought : 

a) In riches and luxury, Job 31 : 24, the rich citi- 
zen, Luke 16, and the rich peasant, Luke 12. 
2 



2 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



b) In health of body. The common saying is, 
" Health is the most important thing." But "to-day 
red, to-morrow dead." Ps. 90 : 6, they are like grass. 

c) In obstinacy, Ps. 2: 3, Jonah 4: 9. An exam- 
ple is Agag, 1 Sam. 15 : 32. 

d) In dissipation, by worldly pleasures, amusements 
and drunkenness, 1 John 2 : 17, Luke 6 : 25, Isa. 22 : 
13, 14, Isa. 5 : 22, 24, or in frivolity. 

" I live, how long I know not ; 
I die, and when I know not ; 
I go, and where I know not ; 
And I wonder that yet I am happy." 

e) In other men, as if they could dissipate anxiety 
and sorrow in any one. Job 16 : 2 (miserable com- 
forters), 2 Pet. 2: 17 (wells without water and clouds 
without rain). 

5. But all these comforts fail to be permanent, or 
they only make the evil worse than before. True com- 
fort must be suitable to all cases and durable for all 
time. There is only one true comfort, and it consists 
in this, " that I am not my own, but belong to my 
faithful Savior." Luke 10 : 42 (the good part), Acts 
4 : 12, Haggai 2 : 8, Christ is promised as the hea- 
thens' comfort. In Luke 2 : 25 He is awaited as the 
comfort of Israel. "I am my own master" means the 
same as " I am my own slave." From this arises the 
slavery of sin. Rom. 6 : 20 (servants of sin), 2 Pet, 2 : 
19 (servants of corruption). Cain was his own master, 
Gen. 4 : 7, 8, 13. Esau also, Heb. 12 : 17, and Saul, 
1 Sam. 15 : 19, 23 ; 31 : 4. As long as I am my ow n 
and must rely on myself alone, I must provide for my- 
self. Cares bring and increase trouble, but give no 
comfort. But if Christ is my Lord and I am His prop- 
erty, He therefore cares for me, and this stills all care 
and unrest, and gives the true comfort, 1 Pet. 2 : 9, 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



3 



Rom. 14 : 8. See Mark 8, on the feeding of the four 
thousand. Luke 22 : 35, John 10 : 15. 

II. UPON WHAT THE ONLY COMFORT RESTS. 

Oar only true comfort in Christ is grounded in this, 
that we rest unconditionally on His love and power, 
and expect from Him every good. 

1. Care. — For He has cared for me before I was 
born, in that He 

a) With His precious blood hath fully satisfied for 
all my sins. 

His " blood" is His whole life and death. 

" Precious" means the same, because Christ is the 
most innocent and highest sacrifice. 1 Pet. 1 : 18, 19. 

" Perfectly" means that we can not or must not add 
anything to it, not even the very least. Heb. 9 : 12. 

" For all my sins" declare that no sin and no num- 
ber of them is so great that the sacrifice of Christ is not 
sufficient for them. 

" Satisfied" means that He has paid the ransom for 
me, and so blotted out the guilt of my sin. Col. 2 : 14, 
1 Pet. 2 : 24. 

b) Our only comfort rests on this, that He has de- 
livered me from the power of the devil. Man through 
sin has become the servant of the devil. Through the 
deliverance from sin we became free from the power of 
the devil. 1 John 3 : 8, 10, Eph. 2 : 3, Rom. 6 : 23, 
Heb. 2 : 14, 15. {Note. — The word " devil" is repug- 
nant to the world when it is confronted by the name 
in the Word of God or in the preaching of the same ; 
while it often uses his name, and even curses and 
swears by it. There are three reasons for this. 1. Ei- 
ther they first of all hope to deny the existence of the 
devil. If so, they are like the ostrich which buries its 
head in the sand or in the bushes when the hunters are 
upon its heels and it cannot escape any more. And 



4 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



then it thinks that the hunter cannot see him, because 
it cannot see the hunter ; and thus the stupid bird more 
easily becomes a prey of the hunter. 2. For they do 
not perceive and feel that through sin they are under 
the power of the devil. Of this the world is informed 
by one of her greatest prophets (Tit. 1: 12), the poet 
Goethe, who says : " The people never feel the devil 
even when he has caught them by the collar." 3. Or 
the anger of the world (because Christians speak of the 
devil in holy earnestness and according to the Word of 
God) proves that they cannot endure it where their 
Lord (the Prince of this world, John 12 : 31, 16 : 11) 
is attacked. The Heidelberg Catechism, on the con- 
trary, has from its beginning the Word of God in mind 
(Rev. 22: 19), namely, that the whole Bible undeni- 
ably affirms the existence of the devil. ) 

" Redeemed," that is, ransomed, and therefore freed 
from the slavery of sin. In ancient times servants and 
slaves were ransomed, and so made free. 

c) The comfort rests on this, that Christ satisfied for 
the guilt of my sins and ransomed me from the slavery 
of sin. Christ has acquired me as His own personal 
property. And no one or nothing can tear me, His 
rightful possession, away from Him. 

2. Preservation. — He also preserves me, in that 

a) Without the will of my Heavenly Father not a 
hair can fall from my head. God is my Father through 
Jesus Christ, and the will of the Father is also the will 
of the Son. John 6 : 39, John 10 : 30. 

" Hair of my Head." — The hair is the very smallest 
thing in the human body. We do not pay any atten- 
tion if one falls out. Nevertheless it is said, " The 
very hairs of your head are numbered." Matt, 10 : 
29-31. The preservation of the body is assured to 
us. Isa. 43 : 1-3, Mark 16 : 19. Examples, Daniel 
in the Lion's den, Dan. 6 ; the men in the fiery fur- 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



5 



nace, Dan. 3 (the hair of their heads was not singed) ; 
Paul and the viper, Acts 28 ; out of the mouth of the 
lion, 2 Tim. 4 : 17. If Christ cares for the preserva- 
tion of our bodies with the greatest exactness, how 
mucn more does He care for my soul. John 10 : 28, 
1 Cor. 1:8. 

b) If nothing can happen to me without my Heav- 
enly Father's will, then if at any time affliction of body 
and soul befalls me, it occurs in accordance with His 
will. Preservation then shows itself in this, that noth- 
ing can harm me, but rather all must be subservient to 
my salvation. Acts 14 : 22, James 1 : 12, Rom. 8 : 28. 
As examples, the guiding of Jacob, Gen. 32 : 10 ; of 
Joseph, Gen. 50: 20; of David, Ps. 118 : 18, 21. 

This gives a mighty comfort and a joyful courage. 

3. Assurance. — In order that I with firm confidence 
as a chosen child of God can make this only comfort 
my own, Christ gives the double assurance : 

a) The inward witness of the Spirit. Self-made sen- 
timents and imaginations cannot help me, the Holy 
Ghost alone can assure me of my salvation and of eter- 
nal life. If one has no certainty of his salvation in 
Christ, then he has no comfort. Pom. 8 : 9, 14, 16. 

b) The strength for a new life, which we cannot 
have of ourselves, Christ Himself makes me " through 
His Holy Spirit willing and ready henceforth to live 
unto Him." To live according to the commandment 
of God and His honor, is then not a burden, but a de- 
light. Matt. 7 : 21, Is. 40 : 29, Matt. 11, 30, Ps. 110 : 
3. Therefore I am certain, through the only comfort, 
that I am not my own, but belong to Christ. In order 
to obtain this precious comfort, we can give up every- 
thing else, like the man with the hid treasure and the 
merchant with the pearl of great price. Matt. 13, Ps. 
73: 25, 26, Rom. 8: 38, 39. 



6 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



Question 2 

How many tilings are necessary for thee to know, that thou, enjoying 
th is comfort, mayest live and die happy t 

Three ; the first, how great my sins and miseries are ; the second, 
how I may be delivered from all my sins and miseries ; the third, 
how I shall express my gratitude to God for such deliverance. 

The first answer is, as it were, an open gateway, 
through which we behold the glorious benefits, salvation 
and eternal life in Christ; which, as a treasure-house 
of God, the Catechism offers to us in a beautiful ar- 
rangement. The second question shows us the three 
steps by which we enter and share these gifts. The 
only comfort must become and remain your comfort, 
else it will profit you nothing if you merely know of it. 

I. The Fiest Paet. 

He that desires to be delivered from the misery of 
sin, must know, above all things, that he is held fast in 
misery, and that this is so great that neither he nor 
any otiier can help him out of it. A sick man that 
will not own that he is sick, will not ask for a physi- 
cian nor take medicine. But sin is the most grievous 
disease, which ruins body and soul, temporally and 
eternally. The first part aims to awaken in us a desire 
for deliverance Matt. 9 : 12, Jer. 3 : 13. The prodigal 
son, Luke 15, when far from home and his father, sees 
most of all his misery. And he came to himself, but 
found fault not with others, but with himself. 

II. The Second Paet. 
Were we only to see how great our misery is, but not 
how we can be delivered, we would despair and be dis- 
heartened. Illustration — Cain, Gen. 4: 13. It is 
therefore necessary to know " that I have a Savior, who 
from the manger to the grave, yes, to the throne, where 
man gives Him honor, belongs to me a sinner." This 
the second part teaches. A sick man who sees he is 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



7 



sick, will not go to the very best physician, but to the 
one who is skilled in his profession, in whom he can 
place his confidence. John 17 : 3, Matt. 11 : 28, Luke 
5: 17, Acts 4: 12. The woman who was a great sin- 
ner, Luke 7, permitted nothing to detain her from 
going to Christ, and then she found the forgiveness of 
her sins, although they had been very great. 

III. The Third Part. 

Every kindness we have received deserves gratitude ; 
and this makes us more attached to the benefactor. A 
physician we pay when we have become well, but it is 
impossible for us to pay God for the deliverance which 
is given us in Christ. However we can show ourselves 
grateful to Him by a new life. But this we know not 
of ourselves. Therefore it is necessary for us to learn 
how this is to be attained according to the command- 
ments and prayer. Ps. 50 : 14. The proper thank- 
offering. Pom. 12 : 1, Col. 2 : 7. The healed Samari- 
tan, Luke 17, is to us an example of gratitude ; the be- 
havior of the nine lepers warns us against ingratitude. 
The one who w r as thankful was especially assured of his 
comfort. When we say that it is necessary to know, 
i. e., to understand these three parts, we do not mean that 
this is to be done only with the head, but it must be- 
come a matter of the heart. John 13: 17, Ps. 50: 15. 

IV. Division of the Catechism. 

The three parts we find together in Pom. 7 : 24, 25, 
" O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from 
the body of this death ? I thank God through our Lord 
Jesus Christ." The headings of the three parts of the 
Catechism are taken from this, while the division is 
based on the Epistle of the Pomans in which the Apos- 
tle Paul treats of these three divisions. First he con- 
vinces the Jews and Gentiles that thev are miserable 



8 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



and condemned sinners. Chap. 1 : 18 — 3 : 21. Sec- 
ondly he teaches redemption through Christ. Chap. 3 : 
21 — 11 : 36. Thirdly he exhorts them to gratitude 
through a Christian life. Chap. 12 : 1 — 16 : 27. 

Questions 1 and 2 are the introduction to the Cate- 
chism just. Chap. 1 : 1 — 17 are to the Epistle to the 
Romans. 



PART FIRST. 



OF THE MISERY OF MAX. 



TH*E LAW AND SIX. 

Question 3. 

Whence knpwest thou thy misery ? 
Out of the law of God. 

L THE IMPORT OF THE WORD -MISERY." 

The word " Elend" here translated misery originally 
carried with it the idea of " out of one country," " in a 
foreign land," and was formerly applied to what was 
considered the extremity of ciyil punishment, viz., ban- 
ishment. " Misery" therefore indicated the unhappy 
condition of punitive separation from home and friends. 
In the time of the Reformation the original meaning of 
the word still prevailed. Luther translated Isa. 58 : 7, 
They who are in " Elend" bring to thy house. The 
literal rendering would be : " The poor who are wander- 
ing," and thus poor travelers or wanderers. The Sep- 
tuagint translates the expression, " Shelterless poor," 
i. e., homeless. 

2. That which is spoken of in the second question as 
" sin and misery" is treated in the third question under 
one head. Sin and its power (sinfulness) and their 
consequences, viz., guilt and punishment, are set forth. 
Sin is not merely human weakness ; it is rather trans- 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



9 



gression, evil-doing, an offence against God. There- 
fore sin is the greatest of all miseries, because it sepa- 
rates man from God and banishes him from His pres- 
ence, and thereby makes him wretched in body and 
soul, in time and eternity. Isa. 59 : 2. The first sin 
at once plunged man into misery, and banished him 
from Paradise (the dwelling place of God among men) 
— out to accursed ground. Sin developed with the first 
murder, and drove the first murderer, Cain, full of 
despair, into the land of Nod, i. e., into banishment. 
And when a son was born to Seth, he named him, with 
a feeling of the deepest misery, Enos, i. e., incurably 
sick. (The word Enos thus also signifies " man.") 

II. The Import of the Law of God. 

1. A law is something established, a certain fixed 
order, to which one must conform. It demands obedi- 
ence. All human law has its authority only through 
the divine economy. Where it contradicts that, the 
word of the apostle holds true, " We must obey God 
rather than men." Acts 5 : 29. The divine law on the 
contrary demands unconditional obedience, because God 
is the highest and the only infallible lawgiver. 

2. God's law is His revealed will, and directs us 
what to do and what to leave undone. It is, therefore, 
in the form of a command and prohibition. We must 
distinguish between the natural law of God or the con- 
science, and the revealed or written law of God found 
in the Scriptures. 

a) Conscience is the innate consciousness in man of 
good and evil, right and wrong — a remnant from the 
school of Paradise, from the tree of the knowledge of good 
and evil. It is also called " God's voice in the heart 
of man." Rom. 2 : 4-15. But as all the powers and 
capacities of the soul have become corrupt through sin, 
so in like manner the conscience is involved. Man 
3 



10 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



can, therefore, never attain to a knowledge of sin 
through conscience alone, since his conscience even 
often approves many things that God condeirns (e. g., 
to lie, when it does not work injury to another, or when 
it is of advantage to the person himself or to some one 
else : to purloin or to retain something — i. e., to steal — 
when it is only of little value, or when the one to whom 
it belongs has an abundance of it). The conscience of 
the natural man is, therefore, unreliable. Rom. 2 : 15. 
It needs to be regulated and quickened by the written 
law of God, just as a clock must constantly be regu- 
lated and set by the sun. There is an erring con- 
science, which is like the clock that runs and strikes 
the hour, but not correctly. There is a slumbering 
conscience, which is like the running clock that does 
not strike. By the "good" and " evil conscience" we 
understand the testimony of conscience that .one has 
done well or ill. But the " good" conscience may also 
be an erratic one. 

b\ The written law of God. which is revealed to us 
in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and Xew Testa- 
ments, is God's revealed will, according to which we are 
to regulate our conduct, both in our actions and in 
avoiding things improper. 

1. First of all in the Old Testament, John 1 : 17, 
Micah 6 : 8. The law in the old covenant is of a three- 
fold character — the moral or ethical, the ceremonial or 
ecclesiastical, and the state or civil law. The ceremo- 
nial law is comprehended in the directions about wor- 
ship and the religious observances of the jjeople of 
Israel ; the civil laAv determines the political institu- 
tions and governs the judicial relations of the people. 
Botn laws applied only to the people of Israel, and 
were intended also to bring them to a knowledge of 
sin. The former, through their sacrifices and ceremo- 
nial washings, testified to their uncleanness. Heb. 10 : 



THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 



11 



3. The latter convicted them of disobedience and 
resistance to law in daily life. Both laws have been 
abolished in Christ ; the ceremonial law through His 
sacrificial death and His high priestly office (Col. 2:17, 
which are a shadow of things to come ; but the body is 
of Christ, Heb. 10: 12, 26). The civil law has been 
abolished through His kingly office and through His 
heavenly reign, Matt. 28 : 18-20, after the severest 
punishment of this law, the penalty of death, had been 
inflicted on the Son of God (John 19 : 7, Deut. 21 : 23), 
and after the Jewish state had been destroyed by the 
judgment of God. Of the ceremonial and civil law of 
Israel it may be said to be true that Christ is the end 
of the law. Rom. 10 : 4. 

The moral or ethical law, which is comprehended in 
the Ten Commandments, was the first law which God 
gave to Israel at Sinai as soon as they had come out of 
Egypt, and had become an organized community. Ex. 
20, Deut. 5. It is still in force and is for all people, 
and for all times the foundation given of God of the 
moral order of the world. Matt. 5 : 17, " Think not 
that I came to destroy the law and the prophets, but to 
fulfil ;" i. e., not only to fulfil its demands in His 
active, and its punishments in His passive obedience, 
but He had also fulfilled the law in the sense that He 
made it more complete, and demands that in His king- 
dom there should be a more exact fulfilment than that 
to which the Jews were accustomed, and which was 
only directed to the letter. 

2. The New Testament contains not only the gospel, 
but also the law of the new covenant. John 14 : 15, 
John 13 : 34, Gai. 6 : 2, 1 Thess. 4 : 3. 

III. How to Attain to the Knowledge of Sin Through the Law of God. 

God gave the law for a two-fold purpose. It is to 
lead, first of all, to the knowledge of our sin, and then 
to serve us as a guide to the new life which is well- 



12 



THE HEIDELBEEG CATECHISM. 



pleasing to God. For the latter purpose the law, i. e., 
the Ten Commandments, is set forth explained in the 
third part of the Catechism (of " thankfulness"). Here, 
in the first part, we have to do with the law in the 
former sense. It is by bitter experience that we become 
acquainted with misery as evil, the consequence of sin ; 
but we learn sin itself as misery only from the law 
of God. Rom. 3 : 20. Here we are concerned not so 
much with the coarse outbreaks of sin and with single 
sins, but with the essence of sin and our sinfulness. 
Rom. 7 : 7. By sin we understand all that is opposed 
to the holy will and law of God, whether it be in 
thought, word or deed. 1 John 3 : 4. Sin is accord- 
ingly rebellion against the will of God and apostasy 
from God. We come to the knowledge of sin when we 
compare our whole life, in deeds and things avoided, 
in thought, word and deed with the demands of the 
divine law, and when we do not turn our eyes away 
from the odious picture, which confronts us as our own 
in this pure mirror ; or when we are not like the man 
who beholdeth his natural face in a glass, and forthwith 
goeth his way and forgetteth what manner of man he 
was. James 1 : 23, 24. Christ pointed the rich young 
man who asked him the way of salvation (Matt. 19), as 
well as the scribe who tempted him (Luke 10), to the 
law. But both of these had read the law only super- 
ficially, or else they could not have said : " All this 
have I kept." We must know the far-reaching signi- 
ficance of the law if we would know the greatness of 
our sin. 

Question 4 

What doth the law of God require of us? 

Christ teacheth us that briefly. Matt. 22 : 37-40. " Thou shalt 
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all 
thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first and the great 
command ; and the second is like to this : Thou shalt love thy 
neighbor as thyself. On these two commands hang the whole law 
and the^prophets." 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



13 



Unlike Luther's Catechism, which had already been 
published when the Heidelberg Catechism was com- 
posed, this does not set forth the Ten Commandments, 
but the summary of them given by Christ Himself as 
the means to bring about a knowledge of sin. The 
reason for this arrangement is not that the writers 
wished to change the order of the five principal points 
treated in both Catechisms, or because it was unde- 
sirable to introduce the Ten Commandments twice, in 
the first part as a mirror in which to discover the 
knowledge of sin, and then again in the third part as 
the rule of Christian life. The reasons manifestly lie 
deeper, and are to be found in the nature of the subject 
itself and in the purpose of the book. 

1. The subject does not treat of the knowledge of 
individual sins in the sense of transgressions of particu- 
lar commandments, but of the knowledge of sin, of the 
sinfulness and the lost condition of the natural man. 
This knowledge is far more easily attained by holding 
the Ten Commandments before us in the concentrated 
form of a summary like a mirror with intense reflec- 
tion in a narrow compass. The source from which all 
true keeping of the law must proceed, and the goal 
which it strives to reach, is love. Do you love God 
perfectly and your neighbor as yourself? This ques- 
tion penetrates the inmost recesses of the soul, and over 
against it there is no escape as might perchance be 
attempted from one or another of the commandments. 
" Ye are to be perfect as your Father in heaven is per- 
fect." To this there is but one confession : I am not 
perfect, and I cannot become such of myself. 

2. The other reason is found in the purpose of the 
Catechism, which is intended for youth, and is, there- 
fore, a pedagogical one. One might not succeed in 
bringing a catechumen to a consciousness of utter sin- 
fulness in regard to the seventh commandment (thou 



14 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



shalt not commit adultery), or the tenth (thou shalt not 
covet thy neighbor's wife). On the contrary, love to 
parents, to kindred and to benefactors, with which the 
youth is familiar, presents a point of departure from 
which to bring him to recognize that he does not love 
God and his neighbor as he ought, and consequently 
does not keep the commandments of God as a whole. 

Although Calvin in his Catechism treats the Apos- 
tles' Creed as his first point, yet the application which 
the Heidelberg Catechism makes of the law in the first 
part, is fully Calvinistic. Calvin says : "The purpose 
of the law is easily recognized. It teaches love — love 
to God and to the brethren. Love to one's self it does 
not teach. There is nothing in it that says what to do 
or what to avoid for the sake of ourselves. For even 
without a command we think first of ourselves, and in 
everything we care best for ourselves, if we become 
absorbed in love toward others. The commandments 
do not aim at particulars, but at the righteousness of 
our whole being. Let no one think that he can fulfil 
them by external acts. Whoever is not pervaded by 
love, and does not do everything out of love, breaks the 
law in every thought and act. But since no one has 
such love in himself, we all come short and are guilty 
before God. We stand in need of forgiveness, of a 
re-adoption through grace, of a love which is shed 
abroad in our hearts and which teaches us how to love. 
Thus the law points us to Christ." 

Again, the summary of the divine law is divided into 
two commands. The first corresponds to the first table 
of the law (commandments 1-4), the second to the sec- 
ond table (commandments 5-10). Compare question 
93. This summary we find already in the Pentateuch, 
and evidently in view of it the scribe who wished to 
tempt the Lord with his question (Matt. 22), made 
no reply (Deut. 6 : 5, Lev. 19: 18). 



THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 



15 



I. The First and Greatest Commandment. 

Loving God with all our heart, with all our soul, 
with all our mind, and with all our strength is to love 
Him above all else with fall determination of purpose 
and with complete self-surrender, — with all the powers 
of heart, soul and mind. Love is not a mere sentimen- 
tal feeling, but it embraces all the powers and faculties 
of man, — the understanding (knowledge), feeling (sen- 
sation) and willing (determination), and gives proof of 
itself in all the energies of body and soul. Therefore 
loving God means also : (a) That I recognize and honor 
Him as the highest good (for true love rests upon rev- 
erence), Ps. 73 : 25; (b) that I long after Him contin- 
ually (for this is the disposition of love), Ps. 27 : 8; 
and rejoice in His presence (this is the happiness of 
love), Ps. 84 : 3 ; (c) that I gladly and freely do His 
will (this is the proof of love), 1 John 5 : 3, Acts 5 : 29. 

II. The Second Commandment, which is like nnto the First. 

1. To love your neighbor as yourself, i. e., as if you 
were he, or as if you were in his place. The impure 
and sinful self-love (selfishness and egotism) of the nat- 
ural man is hereby not recognized as good and justifia- 
ble. Against this is directed the demand of self-denial, 
without which love to one's neighbor is impossible. 
True self-love consists in this, that we seek our true 
well-being and eternal salvation. Eph. 5 : 29. This 
feeling we should also have toward our neighbor, and we 
should be concerned for his eternal salvation and tem- 
poral well-being to the same degree as we are for our 
own, just as sincerely, constantly and actively as we are 
bound and inclined, according to the will of God, to 
love ourselves. We are not to say with Cain : " Am I 
my brother's keeper ?" Gen. 4 : 9. On the contrary, 
we are bound by what Paul writes in Philippians 2 : 4 
— " Look not every man on his own things, but every 



16 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



man also on the things of others ;" and by what Christ 
says in Matt, 7 : 12 — " Therefore all things whatsoever 
ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so 
to them ;" and by the royal law as expressed in James 

2 : 8— " Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." 

2. According to Scripture we distinguish in our love 
toward our fellow-men between (a) love of brother, (b) 
love of neighbor and (c) love of enemy. 

a) Every Christian who through faith has become a 
living member of the body of Christ, is my brother. 
1 Cor. 12: 27, 1 Pet. 2: 17. In 1 Cor. 13: 4-7 the 
apostle depicts the essence of brotherly love. In Matt. 
18 : 21, 22 we see how often we are to forgive our 
brother. Acts 2 : 44, 45 : They (the brethren, the first 
Christians) held all things in common. Also 1 John 

3 : 1(3. Abraham gives an example of brotherly love in 
his conduct toward Lot. Gen. 13 : 8, 9. 

b) Every person without reference to race or religion, 
is my neighbor ; and especially the one who stands in 
need of my help. In Luke 10, in the parable of the 
Good Samaritan, which sets forth an example of love 
of neighbor, Christ changes the question " Who is my 
neighbor ?" into " To whom art thou neighbor ?" Acts 
17 : 26, Isa. 58 : 7, 2 Pet. 1 : 7. 

c) Among our fellow-men an enemy stands farthest 
from us, but the same love is to be extended to him. 
An enemy is one who wishes me ill, who desires or does 
me evil. Matt, 5 : 44. Love toward one's enemy does 
not manifest itself merely in not returning evil for evil, 
but in returning good for evil. Rom. 12 : 19-21. We 
have examples of love toward our enemies in our cruci- 
fied Savior, and in Stephen. Luke 23 : 34, Acts 7 : 59. 

m. The Sum of the Law is the Two Commandments. 

1. The demand of the divine law is love. 1 Tim. 
1 : 5. The fulfillment of the divine law, therefore, 
roots itself in love. Rom. 13 : 10. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 17 



2. God asks us to love Him, for His own sake ; be- 
cause He is our Lord and God, our Creator and Bene- 
factor with respect to body and soul. 1 John 4 : 19. 

3. For God's sake we are to love our fellow-men. 
Levit. 19 : 18. 

4. The two commandments are like each other : a) 
With reference to their contents, for both demand 
love ; b) with reference to their importance, for God 
demands the fulfillment of the one as of the other with 
equal emphasis ; c) because one cannot be fulfilled with- 
out the other. 

5. The two commandments are unlike in their rank 
(the " first and the greatest," and the " other," i. e., the 
second) : a) In respect to the object of love (God and 
man) ; b) in respect to the measure of love (above all 
things and as thyself) ; c) in respect to their relation to 
each other (because love towards one's neighbor springs 
only from love toward God). 

6. Love toward God is the source of all true love 
toward one's neighbor, and love to one's neighbor is 
the test of love toward God. 1 John 4 : 19-21. 

7. Upon these two commandments hangs the whole 
law which God gave through Moses and the prophets, 
through whom He preaches, inter j>rets and incul- 
cates the law. The demands of the law and the 
prophets are summarized in the two commandments. 
Upon these they hang, and their fulfillment moves in 
them like a door on its hinges. 

Question 5. 

Canst thou keep all these things perfectly f 

In no wise ; for [ am prone by nature to hate God and my 
neighbor. 

I. That I Cannot Keep the Law of God Perfectly. 

How then do I come to the knowledge of sin ? 

The law of God stands before me as a mirror. The 



18 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



purpose is not to view the mirror, but myself in the 
mirror ; not merely to become acquainted with the law, 
but to learn to know myself through it. In a mirror 
we see how we appear, clean or unclean. Speaking 
without a figure, it is our duty to compare with open eyes 
and with all earnestness, the entire man — his disposi- 
tion and conduct, his thoughts, words, and deeds — with 
the whole law. Canst thou keep it all, — not single 
commands, but all the demands of the law, — perfectly ; 
not merely here and there, but always and everywhere, 
and according to the measure in which God demands 
its fulfillment ? And not merely, " Hast thou kept it ?" 
but also, " Canst thou keep it ?" Conscience, Scripture 
and experience answer : No ! Rom. 2 : 17, James 2 : 
10, 1 John 1 : 8, Rom. 7 : 18, 21. The image which, 
according to the comparison mentioned above, confronts 
us in the mirror, is not lovely and beautiful, but repul- 
sive and wholly deformed through sin. Isa. 1 : 5, 6. 
What great wretchedness, what depth of misery ! 

II. Why I Cannot Keep the Law of God Perfectly. 

1. This comes from my being prone by nature to evil. 

a) Evil did not first enter my heart in the progress 
of time, but it was already there when I was born ; 
therefore, because we have not acquired it by practice, 
we cannot rid ourselves of it in the same way. And 
because the inclination to evil dwells in the heart by 
nature, it therefore exerts so great a power over it, and 
cannot be overcome and removed from it through one's 
own strength, which is already weakened by it. 

b) If the inclination to evil resides by nature in the 
human heart, then no man is free from it, but this sin- 
fulness extends to all men. Gen. 8 : 21, Eph. 2 : 3, Gen. 
6 : 5, Jer. 13 : 23, Job 14 : 4, Rom. 3 : 10-12. 

2. "I am prone by nature to hate God and my neigh- 
bor." From this natural inclination arises our sinful 



THE HEIDELBEBG CATECHISM. 19 



and corrupt condition, not from the outbreaks of sin, 
which are its natural effects and consequeuces. And 
the corruption is not to be measured by the coarseness 
or refinement of these outbreaks. The natural inclina- 
tion of man is directed to the very opposite of what God 
demands of us in His law — love to God and man. And 
this antithesis the Catechism expresses in all its severi- 
ty, " prone to hate God and neighbor." 

a) I am prone by nature to hate God. Love and 
hate are like two poles between which there is no me- 
diation. According to man's way of looking at it, in- 
difference is indeed regarded as standing between them. 
But this is a deception. God as the highest good de- 
sires to be loved perfectly ; this demand is His right, 
its fulfillment our duty. Indifference and lack of love 
toward Him are only lesser grades of hatred. With 
God only a decision for or against (ein entweder — oder) 
is recognized as valid according to the word of the Son 
of God. Matt. 12: 30. Further, he who does that 
which is against me, and which he knows is against me, 
will not indeed be able to say that he loves me. Ac- 
cordingly he who loves sin, which is hateful to God, 
and loves the world, which hates Him, is allied to that 
which stands in hateful opposition to God, and of such 
an one it can be said that he hates God. 1 John 2 : 
15. The natural man bears within his heart a hatred 
against all that comes from God and belongs to God, — 
against the Son of God, in whom dwell eth the fullness 
of the Godhead bodily and in whom the greatest love 
of the Father is revealed, John 15 : 23 ; — against God's 
Word, and that not merely against the threatening of 
the law, but also against the proclamation of the saving 
Gospel, 1 Cor. 1 : 23 ; — against God's ways in His 
providence and government of the world, Ps. 78 : 41 ; 
14 : 1 ; — against God's children and servants, John 15 : 
18, 19 ; Luke 21 : 17. 



20 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



The reference, therefore, is not so much to the coarse 
outbreaks of open hatred against God, as they occur 
among those who have reached the extremity of infamy 
in blaspheming and cursing the name of God, as to the 
inner disinclination toward God's Being and Will. 
Thus it is antagonism and enmity against God. The 
essence of enmity can be characterized as nothing else 
but hatred. Even if the world and the flesh claim that 
they love God, it is only empty talk. For the God 
whom they pretend to love, is not the true and living 
God, who created man after His own image in true 
righteousness and holiness, but an idol which they create 
in their own thoughts, according to their own imagina- 
tions, and in which they love their own infirmities. It 
is not different with the idols of the heathen ; theirs 
are coarse, but these are refined. But just in this their 
hatred against the true God manifests itself. Bom. 8 : 7, 
Ps. 45 : 8, Matt. 6 : 24, James 4 : 4, Isa. 59 : 2, Bom. 
5: 2, Col. 1 : 21. 

b) I am prone by nature to hate my neighbor. From 
the same root of sinfulness from which springs out- 
spoken hatred, arises also that relation toward our 
neighbor in which we love ourselves more than we love 
him, instead of loving him as we love ourselves. How 
universal this is, we learn from daily experiences with 
men and their principles. " Das Hemd ist mir nseher 
als der Bock." (" Each one is neighbor to himself.") 
Where a so-called natural love is found, it is always 
very imperfect and lacks the only proper motive. One 
loves either for the sake of one's own pleasure, or on 
account of one's own advantage ; thus ultimately one's 
self, or on account of one's self; whereas God wishes 
that we should love our neighbor for God's sake, i. e., 
from obedience toward Him and according to the man- 
ner that is well-pleasing to Him. How little value is 
to be set on such natural love, we may conclude from 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 21 



the ease and persistence with which it passes over into 
deadly hatred, as daily experience teaches us. He 
who knows his own heart, and whose eyes are open 
to penetrate the restless life of men, must coincide with 
the words : " I am prone by nature to hate my neigh- 
bor." Titus 3 : 3. (The apostle Paul says this of him- 
self and of the other Christians after their former con- 
versation, although he could testify with reference to 
himself : " After the righteousness in the law I was 
blameless." Phil. 3 : 6.) Pom. 1 : 29— full of malice, 
hate, murder, dispute, says Paul of all the heathen. Also 
Gal. 5 : 19, 20. Cain, the first son of the first parents, 
is an example of hatred against one's neighbor. Gen. 
4 : 5-8. And Abel had not given him the least cause 
for hatred. Lamech had great natural love — he had 
two wives— and yet he was a murderer. Gen. 4: 23. 
The sons of Jacob were envious of their brother Jo- 
seph ; they hated and envied him who walked in love 
and obedience toward his father. Gen. 37 : 14-28. 
3. Thus I know how great my sins and miseries are. 

OF MAN'S GUILT. 
Question 6 

Did God then create man so wicked and perverse t 
By no means, but God created man good, and after his own im- 
age, in righteousness and true holiness, that he might rightly know 
God his creator, heartily love him, and live with him in eternal hap- 
piness, to glorify him and praise him. 

I. How God Created Man. 

1. If therefore man has not in the progress of his 
life learned to sin, but is sinful by nature, how then did 
evil originate in man's nature ? Where shall we seek 
for the origin of sin ? Man was not brought forth 
through any process of nature, nor was he developed 



22 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



from a lower animal (e. g., the ape), but God created 
him. Did God then plant evil in man ? Would He 
consequently be the cause of sin and bear the guilt of 
our misery ? Already the first sinners, Adam and Eve, 
sought to fasten the guilt of their sin upon others. Eve 
says, " the serpent deceived me," and Adam even wishes 
to throw the blame upon God, when he excuses him- 
self, " the woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she 
gave me of the tree and I did eat." And thus the 
words of the preacher continue to be verified that " God 
hath made man upright ; but they have sought out 
many inventions" (i. e., subterfuges). Eccles. 7 : 29. 

2. The cause of evil cannot be in God, because He 
is the highest good ; and God could not have created 
man evil, because He Himself is pure and holv. John 
4 : 24, Habbakkuk 1 : 13, 1 Peter 1 : 16, Ps. 92 : 16, 
1 John 1 : 5, James 1 : 16. 

3. As God, according to the testimony of Scripture, 
created all things good, He also created man, not evil, 
but good, i. e., endowed in body and soul with every- 
thing necessary to enable him to fulfil his destiny, the 
glorifying of God. Gen. 1 : 31, Eccles. 7 : 29. Man 
was created good and perfect in the sense that there 
was nothing faulty in him, but he was susceptible of 
development. 

4. God exalted man above all other beings already 
through the manner of his creation. 

a) God made man at the close of His creative work, 
in order to indicate thereby that he was the crown of 
the whole creation ; b) while God in the creation of 
other things merely said, " let there be," or in the crea- 
tion of living creatures " let the earth bring forth," He 
now says to Himself, " Let us make man," and formed, 
out of the dust of the ground itself, man's body ; which, 
although like that of the animal, surpasses it by far in 
structure, and breathed into him the breath of life. 
Gen. 2 : 7. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 23 



5. God created man not evil, but good ; He created 
him not perverse, but after His own image. By image 
we are to understand not a perfect identity, but an ex- 
act resemblance to the original. Gen. 1 : 26, 27. 

6. By this creating man after His own likeness, God 
has raised him above all other created beings, and made 
him His child. 1 Cor. 15: 49, Bom. 8: 29, 2 Cor. 
3: 18. 

7. The essential image of God in man consists in the 
immortal personal spirit which he has from God, and 
by which the nobly created body is also governed. 
Thus man was good in regard to his being, and like 
unto God in his moral nature, in the gifts which 
he had received, viz., true (real, complete) righteous- 
ness and holiness ; in addition to which (also after the 
image of God) dominion over the earth was conferred 
upon him. 

8. Man was created in true righteousness and holi- 
ness, i. e., with the inclination and power for good in 
disposition and conduct. He was, therefore, without 
sin and guilt, and in a state of innocence ; he loved, 
desired and did nothing except what was good, right- 
eous, holy, acceptable and pleasing to God. 

9. On this account all the spiritual powers of man, 
his understanding, feeling and will, were as the image 
of God, good and perfect. He could rightly know God, 
his Creator (understanding — knowledge) ; he could 
heartily love Him (feeling — love) ; he could live with 
Him in eternal happiness (will — life). This we may 
also learn from passages in the New Testament which 
refer to the renewal of the original image of God in 
man. Col. 3 : 10, Eph. 4 : 23, 24, Bom. 8 : 6. 

10. According to Ursinus the image of God in man 
consisted : a) In the understanding, which could rightly 
know the being, will and works of God ; b) in the will, 
which obeyed God freely, in that all his inclinations, 



24 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



desires and acts were in harmony with the will of God ; 
c) in the spiritual and immortal nature of the soul, in 
the purity and spotlessness of the entire man, in com- 
plete happiness, in joy in God, in the dignity and 
sovereignty of man, by which he surpassed and gov- 
erned the rest of creation. 

11, With reference to his body, man was created in 
conditional immortality. He would be immortal as 
long as he remained in a state of innocence. He did 
not have to die. To show this we have the testimony 
of a) the translation of Enoch (Gen. 5 : 24 : While he 
walked with God, God took him and he was no more) ; 
and of Elijah (2 Kings 2: 11, Elijah went up by a 
whirlwind into heaven) ; as well as the future transla- 
tion of all believers who will be alive at the second 
coining of Christ. 1 Cor. 15: 51, 1 Thess. 4 : 17. 

b) The tree of life in Eden. Gen. 3 : 22. 

c) The threatening of God. Gen. 2 : 17. 

d) That mortality would be the first consequence of 
sin. Rom. 5 : 12, Rom. 6 : 23. 

II. Why God Created Man After His Own Image. 

The purpose and end for which God created man 
after His own image is likewise good ; to praise and 
glorify God, in all His manifestations, in word and 
deed, as the noblest creature, God's masterpiece — if one 
may so say. The honoring and glorifying of God is 
the purpose for which He created the whole world, and 
especially man. Prov. 16 : 4, Rom. 11 : 36. In prais- 
ing and glorifying God, men should be like the angels, 
whose blissful occupation is such. Isa, 6 : 3, Ps. 148 : 2, 
Luke 2 : 13. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



25 



Question 7. 

Whence, then, proceeds this depravity of human nature f 

From the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and 

Eve, in Paradise ; hence our nature is become so corrupt, that we 

are all conceived and born in sin. 

I. Whence Originates Man's Misery. 

1. The sixth question has yielded the result that the 
evil and perverse inclination in the nature of man, i. e., 
his corrupt nature, his misery, does not come from God, 
his Creator. The seventh question sets forth whence 
misery originates and who is chargeable with it. 

2. Man created good, living in a state of innocence, 
capable of development, was endowed with freedom to 
choose good or evil. His development would have to 
take the one or the other direction. Because he was 
created good, he had at first by nature only an inclina- 
tion toward the good, which in advance gave the weight 
of its influence against evil in the temptation in which 
he was to choose for himself. Obedience to the com- 
mandment, and the temptation which followed, there- 
fore, did not exceed his powers as long as he lived in 
communion with God. According to his innate state 
of righteousness and holiness, we may say : " He was 
able not to sin ;" and if he had continued in this state 
by overcoming the temptation, then it would have been 
said of him in his state of perseverance : " He was not 
able to sin." 

3. This determination was brought about through 
the temptation. This was necessary, in order that man 
might declare himself through an act of free-will, either 
for good (for God) or for evil (against God). In the 
temptation we distinguish between the occasion of 
temptation and the tempter. 

a) The occasion of the temptation was the tree of 
knowledge of good and evil ; not that the tree or its 
4 



26 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



fruit could have had a peculiar quality to make man 
wise, but God, on account of the child-like state of our 
first parents, attached a command to it. He could not 
issue His command abstractly, on the basis of man's 
relation to God, and say, " Ye dare not hate me," 
for of such hatred they could not as yet have had any 
definite idea; or, " Ye dare not be disobedient to me ;" 
they knew not, indeed, what disobedience was, and could 
not know it. God could only associate the command 
with the closest and simplest relations of man to nature, 
which impressed him externally and served him for his 
bodily sustenance. He forbade them to taste of the 
fruit of a tree which, to distinguish it from others, He 
named the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The 
tree was, because of the purpose for which it was used, 
a tree of knowledge, just in so far as it served as an 
instrument of that test ; through which man, if he en- 
dured it, was to be brought to conscious good, — to the 
consciousness and knowledge of good, in the original 
doing of which he felt happy and stood in clear opposi- 
tion to evil, the doing of which would lead him into 
the contrary condition, into misfortune and misery. 
It was not necessary, therefore, that man should first 
fall, in order to come to a knowledge of good and evil. 

c) The tempter was the Devil (slanderer) or Satan 
(adversary), who used the serpent as his instrument. 
He was originally created a good angel by God, a 
spiritual being, but he fell away from God, and 
with him many angels, who also became evil spirits 
and subject to him. Matt. 4 : 1, 3. (The first Adam 
was tempted in Paradise — the second Adam in the wil- 
derness ; both were tempted of the devil; the first suc- 
cumbed — the second endured the temptation that he 
might overcome the devil for us.) Luke 22 : 31, Eph. 
6 : 11,1 Peter 5 : 8, Eev. 12 : 9, and 20 : 2, John 8 : 
44, 2 Peter 2 : 4, Eph. 6 : 12. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 27 



4. Let us consider the Fall more closely as it is 
described in Gen. 3, not as an allegory (a figurative 
representation of a thought or of a mere internal pro- 
cess), but as a historical fact and an actual occurrence. 

A— The Sin. 

a) The Temptation. Gen. 3 : 1-5. 

Verse 1. — The tempter, as a spiritual being and 
unknown by our first parents, chooses as his instru- 
ment the serpent, well known to men for its shrewd- 
ness. He first tries to confuse them with reference to 
God's word and command, to create doubt and uncer- 
tainty, by lyingly putting a false construction upon 
it. He first turns to the woman, not because she was 
created less good than man, but probably because she 
had not received the command directly from the mouth 
of God (Gen. 2 : 16, 17), and, therefore, might be 
more accessible to temptation after the manner devised 
by him. 

Verses 2, 3. — God had not merely warned them 
against the actual sin ("do not eat thereof"), but also 
against the desire (" ye shall not touch it"). Eve 
shows by her answer that she well knows God's word 
and commandment, and what consequences would follow 
the transgression (" that ye may not die"), and thereby 
she at first resists the temptation, God's word sustain- 
ing her. 

Verses 4, 5. — (" Ye shall not surely die," i. e., in no 
way, certainly not.) She should have turned away 
immediately from the tempter. By remaining, she 
enters already into relation with him, and he comes 
forth with the open, insolent lie: "Ye shall not die;" 
in direct contradiction to God's unmistakable statement : 
" Ye shall die." He, the liar, seeks thereby to repre- 
sent God as a liar and to awaken at the same time mis- 
trust, as if God were jealous and were keeping back 



28 



THE HEIDELBEEG CATECHISM. 



from man that which is highest and hest. Man was 
like God in the sense that he was created in His image 
(Gen. 1 : 26), and he might have been satisfied with it. 
The tempter dazzled the eye of Eve with his flattering 
falsehood, and further assured her, as if in derision, that 
her eyes would be opened. At all events, he mixes 
with his lie a grain of truth, but which God had already 
told them, viz., that they should learn from the tree 
what was good and evil. But to this knowledge they 
would have come through their obedience to God's 
command, and, in that event, without injury to them- 
selves. 

b) The Fall. Verses 6-8. 

Verse 6. — As soon as Eve lost sight of God's word 
and opened her ear to the tempter, she was lost ; she 
had no longer any support, and became the prey of the 
tempter. She fell away from God to the tempter, the 
devil, whom she believed rather than God. The entire 
development of sin comes forth instantly : 1) The evil 
desire which is excited in her by the sight of the for- 
bidden fruit ; 2) the sinful act of taking and eating 
which grew out of it ; 3) the seduction to sin by which 
she involved also Adam in destruction. 

Verse 7. — That they were naked, was neither injury, 
nor sin, nor shame to them ; for God had thus created 
them. But they transferred to the external the inner 
perception and feeling, viz., that they had lost their 
holiness and righteousness through sin. Shame was 
the first indication of the agitation of conscience on 
account of sin. They sought an outward covering 
of leaves for their nakedness (their shame), since they 
were not able to cover the inner nakedness which had 
arisen. Thus after the first sin, there is revealed the 
consciousness of sin and the need of deliverance. Their 
eyes were opened, and now they were sorry for the 
deed. 



THE HELDELBEBG CATECHISM. .29 



Verse 8. — When Adam and Eve in the evening of 
the same day heard the voice of God in the garden, 
they hid themselves from the face of the Lord amongst 
the trees of the garden. This corresponds entirely with 
their child-like condition. The voice which at other 
times sounded so graciously in their ears, now fills them 
with fear. The cause for this lay not in the voice of 
God, but in the ears of man. Conscience accused them 
of their sin. Therefore they were ashamed and afraid 
of the appearance of their approaching God and Lord. 
Here also, as in the preceding covering with leaves, the 
hiding amongst the trees is the consequence and expres- 
sion of an inner emotion. Dread of God takes the 
place of former fear of God, i. e., the child-like obe- 
dience in which they were happy ; instead of approach- 
ing God, they flee from God. Sin makes itself felt in 
them as misery. 

B— The Judgment. 
a) The Trial. Verses 9-13. 

Verses 9, 10. — Sin began with the temptation, judg- 
ment begins with the trial ; not that God stood in need 
of such a process as does an earthly judge. Because 
of His righteousness He would not condemn man with- 
out a trial and without giving him an opportunity to 
defend himself, and for man's sake, that by the exami- 
nation He might explicitly convict him of his sin. 
God summoned Adam first (not Eve) to judgment, 
because He had first given him the commandment, and 
he was the head of the woman (in a different sense from 
that in verse 16, when he becomes her lord). Adam 
was conscious of his inner and outer nakedness, but 
referred to the latter only as the ground or excuse for 
hiding himself, since this condition in which God cre- 
ated him could not be held in his opinion as culpable. 
But in realitv the terrorJof the law, " thou shalt surelv 
die," filled his body and soul. 



30 . THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



Verse 11. — The omniscient God at once brings the 
sinner's refuge to naught : Thou didst eat of the tree 
and thereby hast transgressed my command. The 
Lord puts it in the form of a question, so that Adam 
in his answer would have to acknowledge and confess 
his sin. 

Verse 12. — Before Adam confesses, " I ate," he 
seeks to excuse himself and to cast the blame on his 
wife, who had led him astray. Impliedly he would 
make God, who had given the woman to be with him, 
responsible for his eating. But the penalty had been 
announced to him with the command ; therefore his ex- 
cuse is vain. 

Verse 13. — Also the woman, before she confesses, 
" I ate," seeks to excuse herself on the ground of temp- 
tation, even as the man did on the ground of having 
been misled. She acknowledges now that the serpent 
deceived her. She became wise through the misfortune. 

b) The Sentence. Verses 14-19. 

Verses 14, 15 (" above all the cattle of the field," i. e., 
more than the other animals, which, Bom. 8 : 20-22, 
are also involved in the ruin of their lord, Adam). — 
God began in His sentence with the author of the sin, 
the tempter. He does not challenge the serpent, the 
animal, the instrument, with a question, the means by 
which He had brought Adam and Eve to the knowledge 
and acknowledgment of their sin. At the same time 
He recognizes the accusation of the woman against the 
serpent as well founded, although without excuse for 
Eve, and pronounces the curse upon the reptile ; in a 
wider sense, also upon him whose instrument it was. 
The serpent, in being made to crawl in the dust of the 
earth, became the lowest and most despised of all crea- 
tures. Not only man, but also animals, have a natural 
abhorrence of this reptile. Enmity is put between the 
serpent and the woman, and between their seed. The 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



31 



serpent can only be destroyed by bruising its head, and 
it bruises the heel of him who so treads upon it. But 
as that curse upon the serpent has less significance for 
the animal than for our first parents (who are to be 
reminded continually of their Fall by the creeping ser- 
pent), far more does the second part of the sentence 
apply to them. It is to awaken in them a comforting 
hope of deliverance. (The protevangelium, i. e., the first 
proclamation of the future Redeemer.) The Seed of 
the woman will come, who will destroy (bruise the head) 
the power of him who tempts and occasions sin, L e., 
the devil (the " old serpent," Rev. 12 : 9), who in return 
will cause His death (will bruise His heel). (This has 
been fulfilled through Christ's suffering and death on 
the cross.) 

From the tempter God turns to the woman, who led 
the man astray. Eve receives bodily and spiritual pun- 
ishment : a) pain of body (and in the most sacred sphere 
of the woman. In Christ the curse has been trans- 
formed into a blessing, 1 Tim. 2 : 14, 15) ; and b) en- 
tire dependence upon the man (desire for him and sub- 
jection to his will. In Christ this relation has been 
sanctified, Eph. 5 : 28). 

Verses 17-19.— God turns now to him who had been 
led astray, but to whom, however, belongs the greatest 
accountability. God reminds him of this by recalling 
the command which had been directly given to him. 
Instead of obeying the holy will of God, Adam had 
yielded to the will of the woman, which had become 
sinful. With this calling to mind of the commandment, 
the revelation of the divine will, God replies at the 
same time to the excuse of Adam, which by implica- 
tion had been directed against God Himself (verse 12). 
The punishment for Adam is also a bodily one (he 
being appointed to the laborious tilling of the ground 
cursed for his sake, whose fruit he had to eat instead 



32 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



of the fruit of Paradise), and a spiritual one (affliction 
and vexation of soul, every misery of life). Upon him 
who had received the threatening of the law in behalf 
of himself and of his wife, is now pronounced the heav- 
iest part of the sentence for him and his wife — death. 
Man, who had b°come sinful, now becomes mortal. 
Death is implanted as a germ in his flesh, and has 
descended upon all his posterity ; the consequence is 
the final disintegration of body, which we call death in 
a narrower sense. The word of God, " The day thou 
eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die," is not fulfilled in 
the sense, on that day thou wilt become dust, but 
thou wilt be subject to death. This does not reduce 
the poignancy of the threat which had been pro- 
nounced, as man did not know, but could only antici- 
pate, what death is. How God meant it in the begin- 
ning, we learn from His own interpretation of this sen- 
tence (misery, toil and distress until his turning to 
dust). The whole life of man, corrupt through sin 
with all its misery, is to be called death. From the day 
of our birth and with each new day's increased growth 
in life, we are ripening for death. And the end is, we 
turn to earth. Rom. 5 : 12, Rom. 6 : 3. 

5. Through sin the clevil obtained power over the 
sinner. He thereby becomes subject to the authority 
of the devil, to which the first question of the Catechism 
already referred. In his pride man wished to become 
like God ; in reality he became the servant of the 
devil, since he subjected himself to his will. John 8 : 
44, Heb. 2 : 14, 15. 

6. The Fall, which involved apostasy from God, and 
subjection to the dominion of sin and the devil, and 
disobedience, which expressed itself in resistance to 
divine authority, out of which the Fall originated and 
in which it was actually accomplished, — both had their 
own consequences for Adam and Eve. 



THE HEIDELBEBG CATECHISM. 33 



a) Loss of the Image of God. — This was true thus 
far, that in the fall they lost their original holiness and 
righteousness (the divine gifts of grace), and their 
dominion over the earthly creation came to an end 
(enmity between the serpent and other animals, thorns 
and thistles). The essential image of God, i. e., the 
immortal personal spirit, was left to man, but it was 
clouded by sin. Man became neither wood nor stone 
(Stock und Stein), nor animal, nor devil (the substance 
or essence of whose being is evil, or sin) ; but he 
remained man in his being, even if entirely permeated 
by sin. 

b) Sinfulness. — Sin was not a solitary act ; but it 
clung to man with its fascination, and left its traces 
upon all his work ; so that he, who before was only 
inclined to good, was henceforth prone to all evil. 

c) Mortality. — Only with God (Question 6) could 
man live in eternal happiness. Since he was now 
separated from God through sin, he was driven out of 
Paradise, that he might not eat of the tree of life, and 
live forever. Mortality refers primarily to bodily, 
temporal death. With this, however, is most closely 
connected spiritual and eternal death. The punish- 
ment of temporal death was at the same time tempered 
by God's mercy, else the reign of sin would be eternal. 

II. How the Misery of Sin Has Gome Upon Us. 

1. But what have we to do with the fall of Adam 
and Eve? Very much. For the consequences of it 
extended beyond Adam and Eve to all their posterity 
without exception. Sin did not, it is true, become the 
essential nature of man, L e., his real being ; but his 
nature was most deeply corrupted thereby. Human 
nature became tainted ; as the poison, when it enters 
the body, passes into the blood and poisons it, without 
being assimilated by the blood, or the blood ceasing to 
5 



34 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



be blood, and finally produces death ; in the same way 
the first sin operated upon the being, the nature of our 
first parents. And because the generation (birth) of a 
man is not an original creative act on the part of God, 
but the propagation and communication of man's own 
being, and because this being is sinful, we have all 
(since we are descended from Adam) been conceived 
and born in sin ; and thus the sinful nature is our 
own from the first moment of our existence. In Gen. 
5 : 3 the same expressions that were used by God at 
the creation of man, are applied to the first father, 
Adam, at the birth of a son. As the image of God 
consisted in man's original holiness and righteousness, 
so the image of Adam was reflected in implanted and 
inborn sinfulness. 

2. The first sin is the mother of all the sins of the 
whole world, and its origin is typical of the genesis of 
all other sins. James 1 : 13-15. The first sin embra- 
ces already the three cardinal sins (1 John 2 : 16) : 
the lust of the eyes — the tree, " pleasant to the eyes" ; 
the lust of the flesh — " good for food" ; the pride of 
life — " to be like God" (Gen. 3: 5, 6). In a three- 
fold temptation, corresponding to this one, the second 
Adam, Christ, gained the victory ; lust of the flesh 
— " bread" ; lust of the eyes — " pinnacle of the tem- 
ple" ; pride of life — " all the kingdoms of the world" 
(Matt. 4). 

3. We distinguish original, or inherited, sin and 
actual sins, or sins of commission. 

A) Original sin is the natural inclination inherited 
by all men. Rom. 5:12, Ps. 51 : 5. 

B) Actuat sins are the several sins which arise from 
original sin (inherited sinfulness). Actual does not 
here stand in antithesis to " apparent," but it refers to 
what has been done, to what is set in motion, and is 
practised. James 1 : 15. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 35 



a) Known Sins and Sins of Ignorance. — The former 
are those which we know to be sins ; the latter are such 
as we either do not know to be sins, or do not acknowl- 
edge as such. Ps. 32 : 5, Ps. 40 : 12, Ps. 19 : 13, 1 
Cor. 4:4. 

b) Sins in thought, word and deed are such as are 
committed in thinking, in speech, or in conduct. Matt. 
15 : 19, 20, 12 : 36. " But I say unto you, that every 
idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an 
account thereof in the day of judgment" (idle not in 
the sense of vain and superfluous, but, as the literal 
expression is, "evil," causing offence). Eph. 4: 29, 
5 : 4, Gal. 5 : 19-21. 

c) Sins of Commission {Transgressions) and of Omis- 
sion. — The former are such as we incur when we dis- 
regard a prohibition ; the latter, when we neglect a 
command. Hosea 6 : 7, James 4 : 17, Luke 10. 

d) Intentional Sins and Sins of Weakness. — The 
former are such as are recognized beforehand as sins, 
and are committed with deliberation ; the latter are 
those which are committed thoughtlessly, with rash- 
ness, or when the struggle against temptation is relaxed 
in the heart. The former are not excusable, on the 
ground that one has had perchance a good purpose in 
view (Rom. 3: 8), or was compelled by necessity (lie 
of necessity) ; nor the latter, on the ground that the 
necessary strength to resist was not at hand. The con- 
trary is proved by Ps. 141 : 1, 34 : 7, Isa. 40 : 29-31, 
65 : 24, Luke 18 : 7, 8. An example of the so-called 
" Nothluege," lie of necessity, is found in the life of 
Abraham when he passed off his wife Sarah in Egypt 
and Gerar for his sister, but was delivered by God, and 
put to shame by the heathen princes. Gen. 12 and 20. 
Intentional sins were committed by the brothers of Jo- 
seph when they sold him and deceived their father, 
Gen. 37 ; and by Judas, when he betrayed the Lord, 



36 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



Matt. 26 : 15. Noah, when he drank to excess through 
ignorance of the effect of wine, Gen. 9 : 21 ; and Peter, 
when he denied the Lord, Mark 14 : 66-72, sinned 
through weakness. 

e) One's Own and Others' Sins. — The former are 
those which a man commits himself ; the latter are the 
sins of others, of which one becomes a guilty partici- 
pant by taking pleasure in them, or by assisting to 
perpetrate them, or by acquiescing in them, either 
expressly .or by silence. Heb. 7 : 27, Levit. 5 : 1, 
1 Tim. 5 : 22. 

/) The sin against the Holy Ghost, or blaspheming 
the Holy Ghost, which alone of all sins will neither in 
this world, nor in the future, be forgiven ; or the sin 
unto death, upon which eternal damnation irrevocably 
rests, is the willful and wicked forsaking, as well as 
the malicious persecution, of apprehended and experi- 
enced divine truth. Matt. 12 : 31, Mark 3 : 29, 1 John 
5 : 16, Heb. 6 : 4-6. 

Question 8. 

Are we then so corrupt that we are wholly incapable of doing any 
good, and inclined to all wickedness t 

Indeed we are, except we are regenerated by the Spirit of God. 
I. How Deeply Corrupt Human Nature is. 

1. The seventh Question taught us the origin of sin, 
and the extension of sinfulness to the whole human 
race. The eighth Question points us to the greatness 
and depth of our misery. Is there then no power of 
any sort left in man that he might do good and resist 
evil ? To this holy Scripture answers with an emphatic 
no. John 3 : 6, Rom. 8 : 7, Eph. 2 : 5, Rom. 7 : 14, 
Matt. 7: 16, Gen. 8: 21. 

a) The natural man cannot know the good. What 
he finds agreeable and calls good is capricious. He 
makes his own moral law for himself, which is not in 
harmony with the law of God. 2 Cor. 3 : 5. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 37 



b) He is not able to will the good, because sin domi- 
nates him, and he is alienated from God. Eph. 2 : 3, 
Rom. 6 : 16. 

c) He yields his members servants to sin. Rom. 6 : 
19, Ps. 10 : 7, Isa. 59 : 3, 7, 8. 

2. But is it not the case that the natural man does 
some good and abstains from evil ; e. g., in helping the 
poor and in the practise of temperance and moderation, 
etc. ? Such externally good works lack the true motive, 
love to God, and the proper aim, the glory of God. 
They may have as their basis a sort of natural benevo- 
lence, or tenderness of feeling. One may do good and 
abstain from evil out of ambition, or for the sake of 
material advantage, or through fear of punishment, 
shame or injury. Of such the word of the apostle is 
true, Rom. 14 : 23, " Whatsoever is not of faith is 
sin" ; Heb. 11 : 6, " Without faith it is impossible to 
please God." 

Evidence of the depth and greatness of man's cor- 
ruption is found in the history of paganism (Rom. 1), 
and of Judaism, and of the entire strata of degenerate 
Christianity. 

4. The knowledge of the greatness of our corruption 
[that we are, a) incapable, i. e., powerless, unadapted 
to any (i. e., any whatsoever) good ; and b) inclined, 

1. e., capable, adapted, and willing, to all evil] tends to 
bring us, 1, to humility and distrust of ourselves ; and 

2, to the desire for deliverance from this great misery. 
Rom. 7 : 24. For man, before he comes to a knowl- 
edge of his totally corrupt state, has no desire for 
deliverance. 

II. How Long Man Remains in this Corrupt Condition. 

Man abides in his native state of total depravity 
until the end of his life, if a change does not take place 
in his life. Such a change does not ensue from a 



38 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



so-called reformation, emanating from the man him- 
self. For the outward putting off of single sins and 
misdeeds does not help toward a thorough renewal of 
one's own heart. For this the natural man lacks the 
power. Such pretended reformation is in reality only 
a deception, and furnishes food for self-righteousness 
and self-complacency. Jer. 13 : 23, Isa. 57 : 10, 12, 
Rev. 3 : 17. 

2. Just as little is education, or culture and the refine- 
ment of man's spirit, able to deliver him from the mis- 
ery of sin. The Duke of Wellington justly said that 
there is a possibility of a mere education of the head 
making refined devils. Matt. 7 : 17. One may fasten 
good fruit to the branches of a tree, but this is not the 
fruit of the tree, nor the outgrowth of its life. One 
might lop off its branches and trim it, and dig about it 
and dung it ; but the wild apple tree still bears only 
fruit after its kind. The defect is in the sap. A noble 
scion must be engrafted upon the wild tree, in order 
that a new and an entirely different sap, and a noble 
nature, may be brought to it. The principle of this 
new life cannot be another human spirit, just as degen- 
erate ; but it can only be the Holy Spirit of God. 
Man cannot be helped psychically (a word of quality 
having reference to the spirit of man), but only spir- 
itually (by the Spirit of God). It is the Spirit of God 
that quickeneth ; the flesh (even that which is refined, 
developed, informed) profiteth nothing. Therefore man 
remains, with all his intellectual culture, without the 
Spirit of God, spiritually dead. He remains incapable 
of any good and inclined to all evil so long as he has 
not been regenerated by the Spirit of God. John 3 : 5. 
Let us take another example for our contemplation. If 
a coin were lost upon the street and trodden under foot, 
not only would it become soiled ; but the image of the 
king, which is stamped upon it, would in many cases 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 39 



be defaced beyond recognition. This cannot be restored 
by merely cleansing the coin. But it must again be 
smelted in furnace heat, and the image of the king 
must be stamped upon it anew. This takes place in 
man, in whom the image of God is defaced through sin, 
in regeneration. Matt. 3 : 11, Mai. 3 : 2, 3. 

3. Regeneration is God's work of grace. Just as 
little as man can conceive and bring forth himself, so 
little can he regenerate and bring himself into the 
kingdom of God. Regeneration is a work of God, 
wrought by the Holy Ghost. Ezek. 11 : 19, 2 Cor. 5 : 
17. Regeneration, i. e., the birth of the new man in 
the image of the Son of God, is a work of divine grace. 
Phil. 2 : 13, John 3 : 8, Rom. 8 : 29. 

Question 9. 

Does not God then do injustice to man by requiring from him, in 
his law, that ivhich he cannot perform f 

Not at all ; for God made man capable of performing it ; but man, 
by the instigation of the devil, and his own wilful disobedience, de- 
prived himself and all his posterity of those divine gifts. 

I. God Has a Right to Demand of Man the Fulfillment of the Law. 

Some one (in reply to Question 8) might say : How 
can I help that it is impossible for me to keep the law 
of God ? Why did not God create me better ? But God 
did originally create man in righteousness and holiness 
(see Question 6), capable of keeping the law, and there- 
fore the creature always remains under the obligation 
to obey the Creator, who rightfully exacts such obedi- 
ence. Deut, 32 : 4, Job 34 : 10, Rom. 1 : 32. If it is 
just that God should punish disobedience to the law, it 
is also just that He should exact obedience, whether man 
is able to render it or not. The parable of the unjust 
steward serves as an illustration of this. His Lord 
justly demands of him His goods, although He knows 
that he has squandered them. 



40 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



n. That Man Cannot Keep the Law of God Perfectly is His Own 

Fault 

1. Question 7 proves that it is man's fault, 

a) Although the fall took place through the instiga- 
tion of the devil, man was not compelled to yield to the 
temptation and to obey the devil. He is, therefore, 
without excuse. 2 Cor. 11 : 3. 

b) The disobedience of our first parents was wilful. 
For the command which God had given them was not 
difficult to fulfill. They were not driven to transgression 
either through necessity or want. They were allowed 
to eat of all the trees in the garden (Gen. 2 : 16). The 
devil had no power over them. God had rendered 
them many favors. 

c) Through this disobedience man deprived himself 
of these divine gifts, i. e., he lost the powers by which 
he might have rendered complete obedience, and 
through which all his posterity would have been able 
to render the same. 

2. All his posterity must bear the consequences. 
When a man becomes bankrupt, his whole family passes 
into poverty and want. At the same time the claims of 
the creditor stand in law and equity against the debtor 
and his heirs. With sin we have also inherited the 
guilt, Rom. 5 : 19, Matt. 18 : 25. 

III. The Demand of God is Intended to Bring Man to the Knowledge 

of His Misery. 

God well knows that man in his present condition is 
incapable of keeping the law perfectly ; but He insists 
on it because of His holiness and unchangeableness, and 
to bring man to the recognition of sin, and of his conse- 
quent disability. 1 Cor. 15 : 56, Rom. 3 : 20. Not 
only is there no injustice done to man through God's 
demands, although man is incapable of fulfilling them ; 
but on the contrary, a great advantage accrues to man 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 41 



through these demands ; for they are the means which 
God uses to bring him to a knowledge of his inability 
and boundless misery. 

OF THE PUNISHMENT OF SIN. 
Question 10. 

Will God suffer such disobedience and rebellion to go unpunished f 

By no means, but is terribly displeased with our original as well 
as actual sins ; and will pimish them in his just judgment temporally 
and eternally, as he hath declared, " Cursed is every one that con- 
tinueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law, 
to do them. 

I. The Wrath of God Against Sin. 

1. Sin and its guilt is the first part of our misery; 
the punishment of sin the second. 

2. The wrath of God is not a violent agitation of the 
mind, or a passion like the anger of man which arises 
from his sinful flesh. Prov. 27 : 4, James 1 : 20. The 
wrath of God, of which the Scripture of the Old and 
New Testament speaks in numerous passages, is rather 
the expression of God's holy will, according to which 
He hates and punishes everything that is opposed to 
His holiness. God's wrath rests upon His holiness and 
righteousness, which manifest themselves through it. 
Because of His holiness, God hates, i. e., hath no pleas- 
ure in wickedness. Ps. 5 : 4, 5. Because of His right- 
eousness, God punishes wickedness, which is forbidden 
by Him. Bom. 1 : 18. " For the wrath of God is 
revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and 
unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unright- 
eousness." Therefore God " will" and cannot let dis- 
obedience and apostasy, i. e., sin, go unpunished. 

3. God's anger is terrible. This means not merely 
that He punishes sin with punishments so fearful as to 
strike terror into man (Ps. 2 : 5, Heb. 10 : 27, 31), but 

6 



42 



THE HEIDELBEEG CATECHISM. 



it expresses also the greatness and energy of the wrath 
of God ; terrible, i. e., with all earnestness and zeal. 
Deut. 4: 24, Heb. 12: 29, Nahum 1 : 6. The great- 
ness and energy of God's love is the measure of His 
wrath. His wrath even testifies to His love, since it 
excludes every idea of indifference to evil on the part 
of God. 

4. God is not only angry with actual sins committed 
in thought, word and deed, Horn. 2 : 8, 9, but also with 
inherited sin, original sin, the inborn evil desire. Eph. 
2 : 3, Rom. 5 : 14. " Death reigned from Adam to 
Moses (although God did not reveal His will during 
that time through any law except that of conscience), 
even over them that had not sinned after the similitude 
of Adam's transgression." This included all men, from 
Adam to Moses, to whom had not been given specially 
revealed law, such as God had given directly to Adam, 
and later through Moses to His people, and against 
which they sinned. This passage is therefore applied 
to children who have not yet sinned consciously, and 
yet are subject to the law of death, because the evil 
inclination is inherited by them. According to this 
teaching of the apostle, there is connected with sin 
inherited guilt. 

n. The Punishment of Sin. 

1. As little as God's anger is passion, so little does 
His sentence of punishment against sin rest upon caprice. 
It is a just sentence ; for man through his apostasy from 
God forfeited life and merited death. Gen. 2 : 17, Eoin. 
6 : 23, 1 Cor. 15 : 56, Eom. 2 : 5, 6, 11. 

2. Therefore death, a word in which is embraced all 
the punishments of sin, passed upon the entire human 
race, without exception. Eom. 5 : 12. Calvin says : 
" We, therefore, dread death, first, because in reference 
to the body it is a sort of destruction ; secondly, because 



THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 



43 



the soul feels the curse of God ; and lastly, because the 
cause of death is estrangement from God. From this 
it follows that under the word death is comprehended 
all the misery into which Adam fell through his apos- 
tasy. For as soon as he apostatized from God, the 
source of life, he fell from his earlier state, so that he 
had to feel that man's life without God is wretched, 
involved in ruin, and therefore not unlike death. For 
this reason the condition of man after the fall is itself 
rightly called death. The misery of body and soul 
during the earthly life is, at it were, the ante-chamber 
of death, until death engulfs him up conrpletely." 

3. We distinguish in the punishment of sin a three- 
fold death : as " temporal" punishment, a) bodily, and 
b) spiritual death, and as " eternal" punishment, c) ever- 
lasting death. 

a) Bodily death included the sickness, wretchedness 
and want of the body until its final dissolution. Rom. 
7: 24, Gen. 3: 19, Ps. 90: 7. 

b) Spiritual death is the inner state of separation of 
the natural man from the living God, and involves 
everything connected with it. 

1. Reason is darkened, and therefore the natural man 
is incapable of rightly knowing God. Eph. 4 : 18, Rom. 
1: 21, 23, 1 Cor. 2: 14, Col. 1 : 21. 

2. His free will is lost, and man is a servant of sin. 
Rom. 1 : 28, John 8 : 34, Rom. 7 : 14, Eph. 2 : 3, 5. 

3. From his heart peace has departed. Isa. 48 : 22, 
Ps. 38 : 3, Isa. 59 : 2. 

c) Eternal death consists in the torments which befall 
the sinner after this life in body and soul, and continue 
throughout all eternity. Luke 16 : 23, Matt. 10 : 28. 

The awful torments of eternal death consist : 

1. In the banishment from the presence of God. 
Matt. 25 : 41, 2 Thess. 1 : 9. 

2. In the continual reproaches of conscience. Mark 
9: 44. 



44 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 

3. In despair, that this condition will not come to an 
end throughout all eternity. Matt. 8 : 12; 18: 34, Rev. 
14: 11. 

III. The Penal Law. 

1. " Cursed is every one that continueth not in all 
things which are written in the book of the law, to do 
them." This is the penal law which God had an- 
nounced and the legal punishment which followed on 
transgression, viz., sin. Deut. 27 : 26, Gal. 3 : 10. 
" Cursed," i. e., excluded from the grace of God and 
delivered to destruction. 

2. The punishment of sin is very certain. Gal. 6 : 7, 
Ps. 50 : 21, Heb. 9 : 27. 

IV. The Divine Judgments. 

Definite divine judgments are set before us in Holy 
Scripture as proof of the punitive righteousness of God, 
and for our warning and exhortation. 

a) Divine judgments against single or several individ- 
uals. 

1. Our first parents, Adam and Eve. Gen. 3 : 16-10. 

2. Cain, the first man born and the first murderer. 
Gen. 4: 11, 12, Jude 11. 

3. The Israelites in the wilderness. Ex. 32 : 28, Num. 
11 : 33, 1 Cor. 10: 5, 6. 

4. Koran's rebellion. Num. 16: 31-33, Jude 11. 

5. Achan. Josh. 7 : 25, 26. 

6. Saul. 1 Sam. 15 : 26 ; 31 : 4. 

7. Ahab and Jezebel. 1 Kings 22 : 35, 38, 2 Kings 
9: 33-36. 

8. Judas, the betrayer. John 13 : 27, Matt. 27 : 5. 

9. Ananias and Sapphira. Acts 5 : 5, 10. 

b) Divine judgments as types of the final judgment. 

1. The flood. Gen. 7 : 23, Matt. 24: 38, 39, 2 Peter 
2: 5. 

2. Sodom and Gomorrah. Gen. 19 : 24, 25, Matt. 
10 : 15, 2 Peter 2 : 6. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



45 



3. Pharaoh and the Egyptians. Ex. 14 : 27, Rom. 
9: 17. 

4. Jerusalem. Matt. 24. 

Question 11. 

Is not God then also merciful f 

God is indeed merciful, but also just ; therefore hisjustice requires 
that sin, which is committed against the most high majesty of God, 
be also punished with extreme, that is, with everlasting punishment, 
both of body and soul. 

I. God's Mercy. 

1. God will punish sin temporarily and eternally. 
" Who knoweth the power of thine anger ? Even 
according to thy fear, so is thy wrath." (Ps. 90: 11.) 
Objection is brought to this penal law of God on the 
ground that He is merciful, and, therefore, could not 
and would not reckon so exactly with the sin of man. 

2. God is indeed merciful. Ps. 86 : 15. But the 
natural man has a false notion of this mercy. God's 
mercy is not negative, i. e., weakness. It does not con- 
sist in this, that He overlooks the sin of man and allows 
it to go unpunished, as Eli did (1 Sam. 3 : 13), or as 
any other weak father might overlook the bad conduct 
and sins of his children. But it consists in this, that 
He prepares ways and means whereby He might forgive 
sin without violating His justice. 

3. If God should allow sin to go unpunished, who 
would fear Him ? Man would trifle with Him. Ps. 50 : 
21, Isa. 57 : 11, Ezek. 33 : 28-33, Gal. 6 : 7. 

II. God's Justice, 

1. Justice, as well as mercy, is an essential attribute of 
God, i. 6., it belongs in like manner to His being. As 
God is one in Himself, the one attribute cannot exclude 
the other, and God cannot on account of His mercy 
act contrary to Hisjustice. Ps. 11 : 7, 2 Tim. 2: 13. 



46 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



Augustine says : " Neither when God threatens, nor 
when He promises, does He disappoint any one." God's 
justice includes also His veracity. Ps. 33: 4. "For 
the word of the Lord is right ; and all his works are 
done in truth," and He has pronounced in His penal 
law : " Cursed is every one that continueth not," etc. 

2. One might object that it is too severe and hard 
that sin, which is only temporal, is requited by God, 
not merely with temporal, but also with eternal punish- 
ment. To this it might be replied that a punishment 
must correspond not only to the transgression, but also 
to the relations of the persons involved. Sin has been 
committed by man destined for eternity, against the 
most high majesty of the eternal God. Therefore it is 
rebellion against God, high treason against the Kins; of 
kings. Ex. 5 : 2, Ps. 2 : 3, 4, Luke 19 : 14. 

Even in temporal affairs the punishment corresponds 
to the station of the injured person ; high treason is 
more severely punished than an ordinary offence and 
breach of faith. 

3. Sin is not a small matter. Every sin is high trea- 
son, and before God there is no difference between 
" great" or " small" sins : since every sin is an act of 
opposition to the will of the most high majesty. 
Through the severe punishment which God has set 
upon sin, and which He executes according to His 
righteousness, sin is to be known and felt in all its 
depth. Whoever will not obey, must suffer. 

in. Mercy and Justice Do Not Exclude Each Other. 

1. Both are united in God in such a manner that 
they can well go together, and each manifests- itself in 
its own time and wav. Ex. 34 : 6, 7, 2 Thess. 1 : 5- 
10, Eom. 11 : 22. 

2. Examples from Scripture. 

a) The Hood and Xoan. Gen. 6-8. While judg- 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 47 



ment and destruction overtook the entire human race, 
Noah obtained favor with God. 

b) Sodom and Lot. Gen. 19. Sodom with all its 
inhabitants is condemned on account of its atrocious 
sins (Gen. 18 : 20), and is utterly destroyed ; but God's 
mercy is manifested to Lot, and to his family. Gen. 
19: 19. 

c) The parable of the barren fig tree, Luke 13 : 6-9. 
God's mercy ; " let it alone this year also," if perchance 
it might bear fruit ; God's justice, " after that thou 
shalt cut it down." 

3. God shows also mercy in His justice in punish- 
ing sin eternally with death, that the reign of sin 
might not be eternal, and that after the day of wrath 
there might not be an accumulation of wrath as of 
guilt. God also shows justice in His mercy, in that 
(as we shall see) He punishes with death the innocent 
surety for the guilty sinners. 

IV. Conclusion. 

We observe that the law, which reveals the holy will 
of God, and the transgression of which is followed by 
the severest punishment, cannot deliver man out of his 
misery. Its mission is only this, to awaken and 
enlighten conscience, that man might thoroughly know 
his misery, and thereby awaken in him the desire for 
deliverance. Rom. 3 : 19, 20. The Catechism in its 
first part is intended to awaken a consciousness of the 
misery of sin with its guilt and punishment, and of 
the necessity of redemption from sin, and thereby to 
awaken in man a longing for deliverance. For this 
purpose it appeals to God's word, and to experience. 
But the reason of the natural man, which does not so 
readily submit to a conviction of sin, offers various 
objections. These the Catechism considers, in order to 
refute them. They are as follows : 1) Whether God 



48 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



Himself is not the cause of sin, Question 6 ; 2) whether 
there is not some capability for the good in man, Ques- 
tion 8 ; 3) whether God in His demands does not do 
man injustice, Question 9 ; 4) whether God's mercy is 
not in contradiction to punishment, Question 11. The 
purpose aimed at in their consideration is to bring 
about conviction, i. e., the persuasion of the truth of 
God's word, Ps. 51: 6 ; and to lead to the confession, 
Rom. 7 : 24 ; " O wretched man that I am ! who shall 
deliver me from the body of this death ?" 



PART SECOND. 



OF MAN'S DELIVERANCE. 

The second part of the Catechism, in continuation 
of Question 11, shows how a reconciliation between 
God's justice and His mercy, after the counsel of His 
wisdom, is established, namely through the obedience 
and sacrifice of His only Son, Jesus Christ, for our 
sins. Deliverance means liberation, redemption, and 
reinstatement into the former condition ; or, according 
to Question 12, escape from temporal and eternal pun- 
ishment, so as to regain God's favor, i. e., become again 
acceptable to God, and be received into His com- 
munion. 

The Heidelberg Catechism is charged by some with 
having forsaken, in Questions 12-17, the Biblical 
standpoint peculiarly its own, and with having devel- 
oped a scholastic theory. The Catechism could indeed 
simply say that no man could deliver himself from His 
misery, nor be delivered by another man ; and that 
God, according to His mercy in giving up His Son, as 
He has determined from all eternity, has accomplished 
an eternal redemption for all who believe in Jesus. 



THE HEIDELBEEG CATECHISM. 49 



But, indeed, no other thought than this is carried out 
in Questions 12-17, since the object is to explain 
more exhaustively how and why it has been accom- 
plished in the way indicated, and how the justice and 
mercy of God are in harmony with each other. Our 
attention is directed, in the first place, to the concep- 
tion of a Mediator who makes ransom for another ; 
secondly, to the nature of the Mediator sought for in 
this case ; and, lastly, Question 18 names the Mediator 
in whom these requirements are found. The concep- 
tion of satisfaction and redemption is, however, thor- 
oughly Biblical. And it is equally a Biblical thought 
to indicate the characteristics of the Mediator. In Heb. 
7 : 22-28 a similar method of proof is used. The con- 
ception of a Mediator is directly misconstrued, if Christ 
is looked upon as the security of the truth and love of 
God. Of this, the Scripture knows nothing. It recog- 
nizes and names Christ as a security only in so far as 
He appears for us before God. 



OF SATISFACTION AND THE MEDIATOR 
Question 12. 

Since, then, by the righteous judgment of God, we deserve temporal 
and eternal punishment, is there no way by which we may escape that 
punishment and be again received into favour f 

God will have his justice satisfied ; and therefore we must make 
this full satisfaction, either by ourselves or by another. 

I. Full Satisfaction Must Be Made. 

1. By " God's Justice" we are not to understand here 
His attribute according to which He punishes sin, nor 
the righteous judgment which He has pronounced 
against it; but His righteous demand as Creator and 
Lord of man that he should fulfil the law completely, or 
suffer punishment for its transgression. The justice of 
God is satisfied through complete fulfillment of the law 
7 



50 



THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 



or through perfect atonement, i. e., through perfect obe- 
dience in the keeping of the law or in suffering punish- 
ment. Luke 10 : 28, Ezek. 18:4. The satisfaction that 
is demanded is this, that the debt by which the sinner is 
obligated to the justice of God be paid. But this per- 
fect obedience to the law of God is due from man, as 
God originally created him, and the suffering of a suf- 
ficient penalty is due from man, as he has become 
through sin. 

2. " Satisfaction" is the payment on the part of man, 
whereby God's violated justice is atoned for and man's 
lost righteousness is restored. It is paying in the sense 
of atoning for, restoring. Job 20: 11, Ps. 69: 4, Matt. 
18 : 34, Philemon 18, 19, Mark 10 : 45. 

3. The requirement of such satisfaction is a funda- 
mental law of God. Isa, 1 : 27 ; 5 : 16, Josh. 24 : 19, 
Ex. 23 : 7. 

II. By Whom Full Satisfaction Must Be Made. 

1. The one who is guilty must render the satisfac- 
tion, and the one who has sinned must suffer the pun- 
ishment. Deut. 27 : 26, Ezek. 18:4. 

2. But in ordinary life it is also permitted that an- 
other, a surety, may take the place of the debtor and 
assume his obligations, in case of his inability to pay 
the debt or to suffer the punishment. Gen. 44 : 32, 33, 
Philemon 19. 

3. Over against God's justice, i. e., His just demand 
upon the sinner, a security is admissible. This is 
proved by the fulfillment of redemption through Christ, 
who is called in Heb. 7 : 22 the surety (not " executor") 
of the new covenant. Col. 2 : 14. " Blotting out the 
handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which 
was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing 
it to his cross." He has paid the debt for us as our 
surety, and thereby discharged the obligation. Ac- 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 51 



cording to Rom. 5 : 6-8, Christ died as surety for the 
ungodly. 

4. The institution of sacrifices in the old covenant 
points also to this, that through another satisfaction 
may be made ; through the sacrifice there is made, even 
if not a complete, yet a symbolical satisfaction for the 
sinner by whom or for whom it is offered unto God. 
Lev. 9 : 7. In the fulfillment of redemption Christ is 
made the sin-offering for us, 1 Peter 2 : 24, " Who his 
own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree" 
(literally : Who His own self carried our sins in His 
own body upon the wood — upon the cross as the altar, 
according to Lev. 9:7). Rom. 8 : 3, 2 Cor. 5 : 21. 

5. References to the redemption from slavery may 
also be cited. He who was sold as a slave through ina- 
bility to pay (Matt. 18 : 25) , could either redeem 
himself, if he earned enough money, or could be 
redeemed through the payment of the debt by another. 
Mark 10 : 45. " For even the Son of man came .... 
to give his life a ransom (literally : As redemption 
money to buy freedom) for many." 

Question 13. 

Can we ourselves then make this satisfaction t 

By no means ; but on the contrary we daily increase our debt. 

After establishing (Ques. 12) the fact and nature of 
man's guilt and how satisfaction for it is to be made, we 
must further inquire who can render this satisfaction ; 
whether we ourselves (Ques. 13), or any mere creature 
(Ques. 14) , and if neither, what sort of a Mediator we 
must seek for (Ques. 15). 

1. There is a two-fold way (see Ques. 12, 1., 1) to sat- 
isfy the justice of God, viz., by the fulfillment of the 
law and the suffering of its penalty. In neither 
respect can the payment, the satisfaction, be made by 
ourselves. Man cannot render the satisfaction, 



52 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



2. By fulfilling the law. 

a) Man has lost all power in the direction of the good. 
Job 9 : 2, 3, Ps. 143 : 4, Eom. 8 : 7, Matt. 16 : 26. 

b) An externally honorable conduct, so-called civil 
righteousness, is excluded in relation to God, who de- 
mands perfect obedience. Isa. 64 : 6. 

c) A restoring or making good again is also out of 
the question ; for whatever good we could do, we are 
indebted to God for doing it. And if we cannot in our 
own strength in the present do any good, much less 
can we perform an excess of goodness that is to atone 
for the past. 

d) On the contrary we daily increase our guilt 
through new sin. That we daily sin anew is proved by 
our consciences and by Christ Himself when He teaches 
us dailv to pray : Forgive us our debts. 1 Kings 8 : 46, 
Jas. 3 f 2, Eom. 2 : 5. 

One who presumes to be his own deliverer resembles 
a man who is sunk in the mire, and with his own hand 
attempts to draw himself out of it by the hair. Not only 
does he fail to draw himself out, but he works himself 
into it deeper and deeper. 

3. It is not possible for us to make satisfaction by 
enduring the punishment ; for it will be not only tem- 
poral, i. e., finite, but also eternal, and we shall not 
come forth from it throughout eternity. Isa. 33 : 14. 

4. If, therefore, the justice of God cannot be satisfied 
by us, it is necessary that satisfaction should be 
made for us by another, if we are to escape the punish- 
ment and be again received into favor, i. e., if we are 
to be delivered. 

Question 14. 

Can there then be found anywhere one, who is a mere creature, able 
to satisfy for us f 

None ; for first, God will not punish any other creature for the 
sin which man hath committed ; and further, no mere creature can 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



53 



sustain the burden of God's eternal wrath against sin, so as to deliver 
others from it. 

1. No other creature can make satisfaction for us ; 
neither a man like us, nor a higher (angel) or a lower 
(animal) creature. 

a) An angel cannot take the punishment upon him- 
self, for he is a spiritual being. The punishment for 
sin must be endured in body and soul. 

b) An animal cannot make satisfaction, for it does 
not have an immortal soul and cannot voluntarily take 
the punishment upon itself. The sacrifices of the old 
covenant were not a complete satisfaction for sin, because 
" in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made 
of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood 
of bulls and of goats should take away sins." Heb. 
10 : 3, 4. 

c) Satisfaction cannot be rendered by a man like 
ourselves, because such an one cannot pay for his own 
sins, much less for the sins of the entire race. For 
example, how can a man, who himself owes 5000 marks 
and cannot pay them, become security for the debt of 
another, for perhaps 500,000 marks, or offer to pay his 
debt. 

2. A mere creature, i. e., one that is nothing more 
than a creature, cannot at all make satisfaction for our 
sins, 

a) Because every creature of God owes obedience to 
Him for itself. 

b) Because God will not punish any other creature 
for the sin of man. Gen. 2 : 17, Ezek. 18 : 4. 

c) Because no mere creature can sustain the burden 
of God's eternal wrath, i. e., the weight of eternal dam- 
nation for himself, much less for others. Deut. 4 : 24, 
Ps. 130 : 3, Nahum 1 : 6. 

Question 15. 

What sort of a mediator and deliverer, then, must we seek for f 



54 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



For one who is very man, and perfectly righteous ; and yet more 
powerful than all creatures ; that is, one who is also very God. 

1. Since we cannot deliver ourselves, and no other 
mere creature can make satisfaction for us, we must seek 
elsewhere for a Mediator and Deliverer, who can make 
satisfaction for all that is needful for our redemption. 

2. A mediator is one who, standing between two 
parties and, possessing the necessary prerogatives, recon- 
ciles and unites them. Something analogous is found 
in the office of an arbitrator. Such an one must be 
impartial. Gal. 3 : 20. " Now a mediator is not a 
mediator of one" (one party). He must, therefore, be 
equally distant or equally near to both parties. 

3. The necessary qualifications of a Mediator between 
God and man are : 

a) That he be a true man, i. e., one who possesses 
body and soul and all the essential attributes of man. 

b) A righteous man, i. e., one who is himself without 
any sin whatsoever, and who keeps the law of God per- 
fectly. Heb. 7 : 26. 

c) More powerful and higher than all creatures, that 
with his righteousness he may make full satisfaction in 
the day of judgment. 

d) He must, therefore, be at the same time true God. 
Heb. 7 : 26, Hos. 1 : 7, Jer. 23 : 6. 

e) God and man in one person. Isa. 7 : 17. Imman- 
uel, i. e., God with us. For a Mediator who were God 
only, could not suffer and die, and thus could not bear 
the punishment ; and a Mediator who were mere man, 
would not have the power to bear the burden of God's 
eternal wrath. He must be man in order to render 
obedience and to be able to die ; he must be God that 
his obedience and death may be of endless power and 
eternal value. If he were God only or a mere man, he 
would not be a Mediator between God and man. 

/) We might further add that it is essential that the 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 55 



Mediator be designated by the injured party, i. e., by 
God, and that he himself be willing and ready to take 
upon himself the work of mediation. 

Question 16. 

Why must he be very man, and also perfectly righteous f 

Because the justice of God requires that the same human nature, 
which hath sinned, should likewise make satisfaction for sin ; and 
one, who is himself a sinner, cannot satisfy for others. 

1. The Mediator must be a true man. 

a) If the justice of God is to be satisfied in behalf 
of man, the law which man has transgressed must be 
fulfilled, and the suffering to which man made himself 
liable as punishment for sin, must be endured. This 
can be done only by one who is really man and can 
suffer and die. Heb. 9 : 22. 

b) The truth of God requires it, as expressed in the 
promise in Gen. 3 : 15. 

c) Because the deliverer is to be the head of the new 
humanity, with which he can have compassion, because 
he experienced their misery in himself. Heb. 5 : 2. 

2. The Mediator must be a righteous man. 

a) Only a sinless man can stand before the holy and 
just God and enter into communion with Him. Isaiah 
6: 5. 

b) Only a righteous, i. e., sinless man, who has not 
committed any sin and to whom no sinfulness adheres, 
can suffer the punishment for the sins of others. 

Question 17. 

Why must he in one person be also very God f 

That he might, by the power of his God-head, sustain, in his hu- 
man nature, the burden of God's wrath ; and might obtain for and 
restore to us, righteousness and life. 

1. Divine power is necessary so to bear the eternal 
wrath of God in time, that it may thereby be turned 



56 THE HEIDELBEEG CATECHISM. 



away from the sins themselves. No one can do this 
who has not the power to overcome hell and the grave. 
Isa. 9 : 6. 

2. In order to obtain righteousness and life for others 
it is necessary that one does not owe for himself obe- 
dience under the law, and he who would redeem oth- 
ers, must have power over his own life in order to yield 
it up. Isa. 53 : 12, John 10 : 18. 

3. The righteousness and the life which the Media- 
tor obtains through his obedience and suffering must, 
in order to be of any benefit to the sinner, be made his 
own, must be imparted to him. This communication 
of the new life to man, who is dead in sins, can only be 
the work of God, from whom proceedeth the Holy 
Ghost, who brings about spiritual resurrection and 
renewal. 

4. The Mediator must be God and man in one 
person. 

a) Because there can only be one Mediator, and 
because such a Mediator must be equally near to God 
and man. 

b) That the divinity might support the humanity in 
the difficult work of mediation. 

c) That the doing and suffering of humanity might 
be of full value. 

Question 18. 

Who then is that mediator, who is in one person both very God, 
and a real righteous man f 

Our Lord Jesus Christ ; who of God is made unto us wisdom and 
righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. 

I. Jesus Christ is the Only and True Mediator. 

1. Moses was also called a mediator. He was the 
mediator of the old covenant between God and the 
people of Israel. But his mediatorial office consisted 
only in this, that by the power of God he led His peo- 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



57 



pie out of external bondage and delivered to them the 
law of God. Gal. 3 : 19. " It was ordained .... by 
the hand of a mediator" (Moses) . But he was a sinful 
man like his fellows. On account of his sins he could 
not even lead his people into the earthly land of prom- 
ise. The law whose mediator he was serves only to 
bring to a knowledge of sin, but it cannot create life 
and health and salvation. 

2. Christ is placed over against Moses as the true 
Mediator. John 1 : 17, Heb. 3 : 1-6. 

3. Christ is testified to as the onlv Mediator. 1 Tim. 
2 : 5, 6, Heb. 8 : 6 ; 9 : 15 ; 12 : 24, John 14 : 6. 

II. Christ Has All the Attributes of the True Mediator. 

1. Christ was a true man. 

a) By His birth. Gal. 4 : 4, Heb. 2 : 14. 

b) In all His life on earth He proved Himself man. 
Phil. 2:7. 

c) He had a human development. Luke 2 : 40, 52. 

d) He had human needs. Luke 8 : 23, Matt. 4 : 2, 
John 4 : 7 ; 19 : 28, Mark 4 : 38. 

e) He had human sensations. John 11 : 33, 35, 
Luke 12 : 50 ; 22 : 44. 

f) Also in death He was like man in that He expe- 
rienced a separation of body and soul. Luke 23 : 46 ; 
John 19 : 33, 34. 

2. Christ was a righteous man. 

He was without sin. Luke 1 : 35, John 8 : 46, 1 
Peter 2 : 22 ; 3 : 18, Heb. 4 : 15. 

3. Christ is true God. 

He is from eternity. John 8: 58; 17: 5;1: 1, 
Luke 1 : 35, John 1:18; 14 : 9 ; 10 : 30, 1 John 
5: 20. 

4. Christ is God and man in one person. 

He is God from eternity to eternity, but man in time 
and throughout eternity. John 1 : 18, 1 Tim. 3 : 16, 
Eom. 9 : 5. 8 



58 THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 



5. For the establishment of the mediatorial office 
Christ was 

a) Appointed by God. Gal. 4 : 4, Heb. 5 : 5. 

b) Ready of His own free will. John 10 : 18, Matt. 
26: 42. 

III. Christ is Given Unto Us by God for Complete Redemption and 
Righteousness. 

1. Satisfaction had to be made to the justice of God 
through a perfect Mediator. Sinful humanity could 
not produce such an one. God, therefore, according to 
His eternal counsel of grace, j)rovided a way and means, 
in that He united with His righteousness, with His de- 
mand for a perfect satisfaction in obedience and suffer- 
ing, His unfathomable love and mercy, and gives unto 
us out of free grace the only true Mediator, Jesus 
Christ. John 3 : 16. 

2. Christ is the only Mediator, not only in His per- 
son as true God and man, but also in His work. 2 Cor. 
5: 19. 

a) He has rendered perfect obedience. Phil. 2 : 8. 

b) He has made perfect atonement through His suf- 
fering. Rom. 5 : 8, 9, 1 Peter 3 : 18. 

3. Therefore he is made unto us by God wisdom, 
and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. 
1 Cor. 1 : 30. 

a) Wisdom. Col. 2 : 3, John 8 : 12. 

b) Righteousness. Rom. 3 : 25, 2 Cor. 5 : 21. 

c) Sanctification. John 17 : 19, 1 John 1 : 7. 

d) Redemption. Eph. 1 : 7, Heb. 9 : 12, Luke 21 : 
28, Rev. 21 : 4, 5, 2 Tim. 4 : 18. , 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 59 



OF THE HOLY GOSPEL. 

Question 19. 

Whence hioivest thou this f 

From the holy Gospel, which God himself revealed first in Para- 
dise ; and afterwards published by the Patriarchs and Prophets, and 
was pleased to represent it by the shadows of sacrifices, and the 
other ceremonies of the law ; and lastly has accomplished it by his 
only begotten Son. 

I. What is Meant by the Holy Gospel. 

1. As humanity could not evolve a Mediator out of 
itself, neither did it choose or appoint Jesus Christ, the 
Son of God, to this office, nor can man of himself 
know the way to life. God must reveal it to him. God 
gave Christ to man and made preparation for His 
appearance by word and act in the history of the old 
covenant. This was not done in secret, but amongst 
God's people, to whom it was proclaimed, in order that 
when the Mediator came, the Scriptures which con- 
tained all these revelations, might testify of Him and 
for Him. John 5 : 39. " They are they which testify 
of me," viz., the Scriptures of the Old Testament. In 
the new covenant is portrayed the fulfillment through 
Christ, and it in turn confirms the truth of the procla- 
mation in the old covenant. 

God Himself is the originator of the Gospel, not 
simply in Paradise (where He revealed it direct to our 
first parents), but also in the case of the patriarchs and 
prophets (through whom it was published), and in 
connection with the sacrifices and the law of the old 
covenant (through which He was pleased to represent 
it), as well as in the new covenant, where He accom- 
plished it. 

The holy Scriptures of the old as well as of the new 
covenant, as the record of these revelations, are equally 



60 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



of divine origin. They are inspired by God. 2 Tim. 
3 : 16, 2 Peter 1 : 21. Upon this rests the acceptance 
of the entire Scripture as divine, and its unconditional 
authority in the true Church of Christ. 

2. The Gospel means good news, gladsome message. 
But not every glad message, e.g., that a beloved relative 
has recovered from sickness away from home, or that 
a large inheritance has fallen to one, is gospel as under- 
stood here. To distinguish it from all other messages, 
it is called the holy Gospel, and carries with it the 
glad message or proclamation of the Mediator between 
God and man, the Redeemer and Savior. Isa. 52 : 7. 

This glad message was revealed by God in the Old 
Testament through proclamation in prophecies, and 
representation in types. In the New Testament it is 
found in the fulfillment of all this by Jesus Christ, in 
His person and work. The Gospel is, therefore, in the 
old covenant the glad message of the Savior who was to 
come ; in the New Testament it is the glad message of 
the Savior who has come. Zech. 9 : 9, Luke 2 : 10, 11. 

3. Law and Gospel. 

A) Law and Gospel agree in this that both are one 
revelation from God, and that in both the being, will 
and works of God are treated of. On the other hand, 
they are distinguished from each other in the following 
points : 

a) The law was impressed upon the heart of man in 
creation, and was, therefore, by nature familiar to all. 
Rom. 2 : 15. The Gospel is not known by nature, but 
it has been revealed from heaven to the Church of the 
old and new covenant through the Mediator Christ. 
Matt. 11 : 27 ; 16 : 17, John 1 : 18. 

b) The law teaches what we ought to be and what 
we should render unto God ; but it does not impart the 
strength to offer God what is due Him, nor does it indi- 
cate the way by which we might attain this ability. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



61 



On the other hand, the Gospel teaches in what way we 
may become such persons as the law demands. Matt. 
18 : 23, Luke 10 : 28, Mark 4 : 26. 

c) The law promises life to those who are perfect in 
the same. Lev. 18 : 5, Matt. 19 : 17. The Gospel prom- 
ises life to those who are justified through faith in 
Christ. And yet they do not contradict each other. 
The law is the letter which killeth, and is a ministra- 
tion of death. It is the office which preacheth con- 
demnation. By letter is to be understood the outward 
proclamation and bare knowledge of what is to be done. 
Rom. 3 : 23 ; 4 : 15, 2 Cor. 3 : 7, 9. The Gospel is 
a ministration of life. It is the office which preacheth 
righteousness, and it is spirit. Rom. 1 : 17, 2 Cor. 3 : 8,9. 

B) With reference to the relation between the law 
and the Gospel, Olevianus says : 

" The law is a principle which God has implanted 
in nature, and has repeated and renewed in the com- 
mandments, in which He presents to us as in a hand- 
writing what we are bound to do and what to leave 
undone, viz., a perfect inner and outer obedience ; and 
He promises eternal life on the condition that we keep 
the law of God perfectly all our life. But on the other 
hand, eternal damnation is threatened if we do not 
keep it, but transgress it in one or more points. Deut. 
27 : 26. After the law has once been transgressed, 
there is no promise that our sin will be forgiven through 
its help, i. e., through the works of the law, but the 
sentence of condemnation follows immediately. But 
the Gospel, or the glad tidings, is a truth concerning 
which the wisest men have known nothing by nature. 
It has been revealed from heaven. In it God does not 
make a demand of us, but He offers and gives to us the 
righteousness which the law demands of us, viz., the 
perfect obedience of the suffering and death of Jesus 
Christ, whereby all our sins and condemnation with 



62 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



which the law threatens us, are pardoned and blotted 
out. Rom. 5, Gal. 3. God gives us in the Gospel the 
forgiveness of sins, not under the condition that we 
keep the law, but as a free gift through faith in Jesus 
Christ. Although we have never kept the law, and 
even now cannot keep it perfectly, He has nevertheless 
forgiven us our sins and offers eternal life. John 1:17, 
Rom. 8 : 3, 4, Gal. 3 : 12-15." 

4. The effects of the Gospel are : 

a) Faith. Rom. 10 : 17, 2 Cor. 3 : 8, Rom. 1 : 16. 

b) Through faith complete conversion, justification, 
and renewal of man. 

5. The certainty and truth of the Gospel are confirmed : 

a) By the testimony of the Holy Ghost. 

b) By the predictions of the prophets in the Old and 
their fulfillment in the New Testament. 

c) By the miracles through which the teaching of 
the Gospel is confirmed. 

d) Through the testimony of evangelical truth itself, 
in that it alone shows the way by which we may escape 
sin and death, and in that it alone offers a real comfort 
to the troubled conscience. 

n. The Progressive Communication of the Gospel in the Old 

Testament. 

The communication of the Gospel in the Old Testa- 
ment passed through three stages : 

1. The immediate revelation of God to our first par- 
ents in Paradise, the so-called protevangelium. 2. The 
announcement to the patriarchs and prophets in prom- 
ises and j3rophecies. 3. The representation in types 
(persons, acts and customs). 

The communications and representations which arose 
in these several ways were always adapted to the cir- 
cumstances of the persons and the relations of the times, 
and can only be rightly known and understood in the 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



63 



light of the New Testament ; even as one can infer from 
the shadow the body which casts it, but can really only 
know the latter when it appears. Thus all that points 
to the appearance of Christ in the flesh in the Old Tes- 
tament, is designated as shadow in the New Testament. 
Col. 2 : 17. 

In the entire New Testament great stress is laid upon 
these pre-announcements, and frequent reference is 
made to the words " that the Scripture might be ful- 
filled." Christ Himself appeals to that which was 
spoken of Him. Luke 24 : 44. 

A) The protevangelium in Paradise. 

Thus are designated the words which God spake to 
the serpent. Gen. 3 : 15. In the nature of the circum- 
stances this enmity first manifested itself between the 
posterity of the woman (men in general) and the off- 
spring of the serpent. But as in the temptation and in 
the judgment pronounced against the first sin, not only 
the animal, the serpent, is involved, but also the one 
whose instrument it was in bringing sin into the world, 
his power must be destroyed if sin is again to be put 
out of the way. Thus this word becomes a promise of 
the future Redeemer, the one who bruises the serpent's 
head. In this sense Eve also apprehended it and said 
at the birth of her first son (the first born of man) : I 
have gotten the man, the Lord. Gen. 4 : 1. But she 
was disappointed. The first born of man did not become 
a deliverer, but a murderer. The promised seed of the 
woman is " the Son of Man" who appeared in the 
time appointed by God. Gal. 4 : 4, Matt. 1 : 18-20. 

Christ, the Son of Man, has bruised the serpent's 
head, i. e., has overcome the devil and in behalf of the 
children of God deprived him of his power. 1 John 3 : 
8. As the struggle in Paradise commenced with temp- 
tation, so also in the wilderness, according to the coun- 
sel and will of God. Matt. 4:1. 



64 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



The Son of Man repulsed the three-fold attack. 
Luke 4 : 13. "And when the devil had ended all the 
temptation, he departed from him for a season," but not 
for ever. Thereafter he contended against the Son of 
Man through his instruments, the Scribes and Phari- 
sees. John 8 : 44. " Ye are of your father the devil, 
and the lusts of your father ye will do." Through 
them he approached the crucified one at the end in the 
same manner as in the first temptation. Matt. 27 : 39. 
Satan also found an instrument in Judas, the gifted 
disciple, against the Son of Man, as he had found one 
against our first parents in Paradise in the crafty ser- 
pent. Luke 22 : 3. The old serpent bruised the heel 
of the Son of Man, brought Him to the cross, to death, 
but not to fall ; for He was indeed tempted in all 
points, yet without sin (Heb. 4: 15), until He ex- 
claimed in His expiring breath : It is finished. There- 
by the victory over the devil was gained, and in spite of 
the bruised heel, the head of the old serpent was 
crushed. 

B) Proclamation of the Gospel through promises and 
prop>hecies. 

1. A progressive development characterizes the proc- 
lamation of the Gospel before Christ. The nearer the 
time of fulfillment approaches, the more clear and defi- 
nite does it become, from the ]3rotevangelium in Para- 
dise until Micah and Malachi, the last prophets of the 
Old Testament. We may picture this progress by con- 
centric circles passing from the widest to the narrowest, 
the centre of which is Christ, the fulfillment. 

2. In the protevangelium God had promised (even if 
not brought forth in the ordinary manner, except as the 
Seed of the woman) that the Redeemer should come 
forth from humanity, should be man. In the succeed- 
ing promises, the circles from which He was to be ex- 
23ected are drawn more and more narrow. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



65 



a) Shem. — Among the three great branches into 
which the human family was separated after the flood, 
the Semites are the ones among whom the Redeemer 
was to appear. Gen. 9 : 27. This was fulfilled in the 
first place according to the promise of God, Ex. 29 : 
44, 45, by the dwelling of the Lord's glory over the ark 
of the covenant in the tabernacle and the temple. Ex. 
40: 34, 35, 1 Kings 8 : 11. Secondly, it was accom- 
plished by the appearance of the Son of God in the 
flesh amongst the children of Israel. John 1 : 14, Col. 2 : 
9. Finally, it will be fulfilled in greatest splendor after 
the renovation of heaven and earth. Rev. 21 : 1, 3. 

b) Abraham. — Among the Semitic tribes, the chil- 
dren of Israel are the people out of whom the Redeemer 
was to come, and herein are the marvellous ways of 
God manifested, in that He did not choose for Himself 
an existent people, but (that no flesh, whether of the 
progenitor or people, might boast) gave Isaac to Abra- 
ham and Sarah, when both were old, and created His 
chosen people for Himself. Gen. 26 : 4. The people, 
i. e., the descendants of Abraham, are in the first place 
the bearers of the promise, which is finally fulfilled in 
Christ. Gal. 3 : 16, Matt. 1 : 1. The same promise 
that was given to Abraham is repeated to Isaac and to 
Jacob. Gen. 26: 4; 28: 14. The fulfillment is also in 
Christ. Rom. 9 : 5. 

c) Judah. — Among the people of Israel, it is the 
tribe of Judah which God designates through the bless- 
ing of Jacob. Gen. 49 : 10. The fulfillment of this 
promise in Christ is referred to in Rev. 5 : 5. When 
Jesus was born, Herod, who was not of the tribe of 
Judah, but an Edomite, a descendant of Esau, was king 
at Jerusalem. 

d) David. —In the tribe of Judah, it is the house, 
the family of David, which God chooses. 1 Sam. 16 : 
6-13. The promise which God gave to David later 

9 



66 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



(2 Sam. 7 : 12-14) referred first to Solomon ; but it was 
finally fulfilled in its completeness in Christ. Matt. 22 : 
42 ; i : 1, Acts 2 : 30-32, Rom. 1 : 1-3, Heb. 1 : 5. 

e) In this narrowest circle, to which the prophecies 
of all the succeeding prophets are limited, again two 
special indications are given, the nearer the time of 
fulfillment approaches. 

1. Christ was not only to come from the house of 
David, but he was to be born in Bethlehem, the city of 
David, even when David's descendants should no longer 
be living there. Micah 5 : 2, Matt. 2 : 4-6, Luke 2 : 
4-7. In order that this promise might be fulfilled, 
according to the divine government of the world, the 
mightiest ruler upon the earth gave forth a command 
that set the whole Roman empire in motion. 

2. The Redeemer was to be born a son of a virgin. 
In Isaiah 7 : 14 the prophet prophesies of this son of a 
virgin. Matt. 1 : 18-23, Luke 1 : 27, 31, 34. 

After the announcement made by the prophet Isaiah, 
prophecy reverts again to the first promise of the seed 
of the woman. 

3. God gave the promise of the Redeemer to the 
patriarchs, to whom, in the widest sense, belong (exclu- 
sive of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the progenitors of 
God's people) also the earlier ancestors from Adam 
until Noah, the founders of the human race, and Shem, 
and later David, the founder of the royal family. 
Through them the announcement was made to their 
posterity. The prophets, to whom in the widest sense 
also Moses (John 5 : 46) , Samuel and David (Acts 3 : 
24; 2: 30) belong, prophesied, as they were moved by 
the Holy Ghost, and from the points of view of their 
times, of the future Redeemer. Both the great proph- 

, ets, Elijah and Elisha, who left no writings, through 
their typical activity and their miracles prophesied of 
Him and pointed toward Him. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 67 



a) The first prophecy concerning Christ from human 
lips, which has been transmitted to us by Moses, is in 
a remarkable manner that of a heathen prophet, Balaam. 
He spake not by his own will, but against his will, 
impelled and driven by the Holy Ghost, when he was 
bribed to curse Israel. Num. 24 : 17, There shall come 
a star out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel. 
This is fulfilled in the star of the (likewise heathen) 
wise men from the East (Matt. 2 : 2) and in the desig- 
nation of Christ as the morning star (2 Peter 1 : 19, 
Eev. 22: 16). 

Moses himself prophesied of Christ. Deut. 18 : 15, 
18, 19. The fulfillment of his prophecy we see in 
Christ. John 6 : 14, Mark 9 : 7, Acts 3 : 22, John 7 : 
16; 8: 26. 

b) In the Psalms. — There are those of a special 
character which contain references to Christ, and are 
therefore called Messianic : 1. Of Christ's person and 
office, Ps. 3, 110, 128 ; 2. Of Christ's suffering and 
glory, Ps. 2, 8, 16, 22, 68 ; 3. Of the propagation of 
the gospel, Ps. 19, 40, 45, 47, 50, 72, 78, 93, 97, 98. 

c) All the prophets prophesied of Christ, and in their 
writings are contained numerous, more or less distinct 
(direct or indirect), prophecies of Him. Luke 24: 27, 
Acts 10 : 43. 

1. Isaiah. — The church father Augustine already 
called this prophet, on account of his many and distinct 
prophecies of Christ, the " evangelist of the old cove- 
nant." The most important passages are : Isa. 7 : 14, 
of the son of a virgin (Matt. 1 : 18, 22, 23, Luke 1 : 
27, 31, 34) ; Isa. 9 : 2, 6, 7, of the light in the dark- 
ness and the prince of peace (Luke 1 : 79 ; 2 : 7, 11, 
John 3 : 16, Gal. 4 : 4, Luke 1 : 32) ; Isa. 11 : 1, 2, of 
the rod out of the stem of Jesse (Matt. 2 : 23 ; 12 : 17, 
18) ; Isa. 40 : 3, of the forerunner of Christ (Matt. 3 : 
3); Isa. 40: 11, of the shepherd (John 10: 11, 12) ; 



68 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



Isa. 42 : 1-4, of the meek servant of God (Matt. 12 : 
17-21) ; Isa. 53, of the suffering servant of God, the 
Redeemer. The fulfillment of each verse in this entire 
chapter may be found in the New Testament : V. 1 — 
John 12 : 38 ; v. 2— John 19 : 5 ; v. 3— Mark 9 : 12, 
Matt. 26 : 67 ; 27 : 30, 41 ; v. 4— Matt. 8 : 17 ; v. 5— 
1 Peter 2 : 24 ; v. 6—1 Peter 2 : 25 ; v. 7— Mark 14 : 
16, John 1 : 29, Acts 8 : 32 ; v. 8— Acts 8 : 33, 35 ; 
v. 9— John 19 : 38-42, 1 Peter 2 : 22 ; v. 10— Matt. 
20 : 28 ; v. 11—1 Peter 3 : 18 ; v. 12— Mark 15 : 28, 
Luke 23 : 28. 

2. Jeremiah. — Jer. 23 : 5, 6, of the Lord who is our 
righteousness (1 Cor. 1 : 30). 

3. Ezekiel. — Ezek. 34 : 23, of the good shepherd 
(John 10: 12). 

4. Daniel. — Dan. 9 : 25, 26, of Christ the prince 
(Mark 1 : 15) ; Dan. 7 : 13, 14, of the Son of Man 
(Luke 21: 27; 1: 33). 

5. Hosea.— Hos. 6 : 3, of the morning (Titus 3:4). 

6. Joel — Joel 3 : 1-5, of the Spirit that will be sent 
(John 14: 26 ; 16 : 7, Acts 2 : 16, 33). 

7. Amos. — Amos 9 : 11, of the restorer of the fallen 
tabernacle of David (Acts 15 : 15, 16). 

8. Obadiah. — Obad. v. 21, of salvation upon Mount 
Zion (Luke 22 : 39, Acts 1 : 12). 

9. Jonah. — Jonah 2 : 1, in the whale's bellv (Matt. 
12: 39, 40). 

10. Micah. — Micah 2: 13, of the one that led cap- 
tivity captive (Mark 16 : 4, 6, Eph. 4:8). 

11. Nahum. — Nahum 2 : 1, of the messenger of 
peace (Luke 2 : 14, John 14: 27). 

12. Habakkuk. — Hab. 2 : 3, of the fulness of time 
and the certain coming of the promised one (Mark 1 : 
15, Gal. 4:4). 

13. Zephaniah. — Zeph. 3 : 9, of the cheerful mes- 
sage (Titus 3:4); Zeph. 3 : 15, of the king of Israel 
(John 1: 49). 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



69 



14. Haggai. — Hag. 2 : 8, of the consolation of the 
Gentiles (Matt. 5: 4, Acts 8: 39; 10: 44, 45; 11 : 
18; 13: 48). 

15. Zechariah. — Zech. 13 : 1, of the open fountain 
(John 4: 13; 7: 37, 38). 

16. Malachi. — Mai. 3 : 1, of the angel of the cove- 
nant (John 2: 14-16, Heb. 8 : 6, 8-10; 9: 15). 

C) Representation of the gospel through types in 
the Old Testament. 

1. The Gospel is Typified. — As the announce- 
ments of the prophets are prophecies of Christ in word, 
so also are the types prophecies in persons and things 
(acts, occurrences, arrrangements or customs). The 
types in the Old Testament are pre-representations of 
Christ, but only in individual features. The compari- 
son and interpretation must be made in the light and 
by the help of the New Testament. The method of 
interpreting the type, however, dare not be arbitrary or 
degenerate into play-work. That which was typical of 
Christ in the Old Testament, we recognize from the 
relations or indications in the New Testament. Heb. 8 : 
5, Col. 2 : 17. 

2. We distinguish personal and material types. Only 
the most important are here referred to. 

a) Personal Types. 

1. Adam.— Kom. 5 : 14, 1 Cor. 15 : 22, 47, 49. 

2. Melchizedek.— Gen. 14 : 18-20, Heb. 6 : 20- 
7 : 4. The points of likeness : His mysterious descent 
and his entire appearance ; his name " king of right- 
eousness" and " king of Salem," i. e., of peace ; his office 
as king and priest ; his gifts, bread and wine ; he is 
higher than Abraham and blesses him. 

3. Isaac at the Sacrifice. — Gen. 22. The points 
of likeness : He is the beloved and only son of his 
father ; during the three days of the journey he was to 
Abraham as dead ; the conversation with his father 



70 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



(Matt. 26 : 39, 42) ; he is bound and laid upon the 
wood (1 Peter 2 : 24) ; his silence and his resignation ; 
the word of the Lord to Abraham (Rom. 8 : 32). 

4. Joseph. — Gen. 37-45. The points of likeness : 
He is the favorite son (the chosen) of his father ; he 
walks in obedience to him ; on this account he is hated 
by his brothers ; he receives revelations of his future 
glory ; he is sold by his brothers, at the suggestion of 
Judah, and degraded to a slave ; he endures the temp-, 
tation ; he is falsely accused and condemned without 
judgment and justice ; he meets two evil-doers, one of 
whom is pardoned ; he is in a subterranean dungeon 
as in a grave, forgotten of men ; he is elevated ; he is 
called the governor of the land who provides his brothers 
and strangers (Jews and Gentiles) with bread that they 
may live ; he forgives his brothers (Luke 23 : 34) ; his 
words to his brothers. Gen. 50 : 20, 21. 

5. Moses is Compared to Christ. — Hebrews 3. 
The points of comparison : He is persecuted as the new- 
born child ; he is forty years in the wilderness of Mid- 
ian ; he leads the people of God out of the house of 
bondage of Egypt through the Red Sea (1 Cor. 10 : 1, 
2) ; by him the law was given as the mediator of the 
old covenant (John 1 : 17, Heb. 3:2). 

6. Joshua. — Points of comparison : His name (Josh- 
ua — Jesus, a Savior) ; he leads the people of God into 
the promised land, to Canaan, and apportions the same 
to them. 

7. David, as the king chosen by God ; his throne 
and kingdom ; his people revolt against him and he 
passes over Cedron to suffer (John 18 : 1) ; but espe- 
cially a type of Christ in his writings, the Messianic 
psalms. 

8. Jonah, the prophet, whom Christ Himself desig- 
nated as a type of Himself. Matt. 12 : 40. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 71 



b) Material Types. 

1. The Offerings, especially the sin-offering and 
the great offering of atonement. Sacrifices are offerings 
of man to God for atonement or for gratitude, and sym- 
bolize in both cases the payment of a debt ; for they 
are not intended to be equivalents. Heb. 10 : 3. 

The sin-offering was made through the slaying and 
burning of a pure male animal without blemish. The 
one that sacrificed laid his hands upon the animal, 
symbolically transferring his sin to it ; then it was 
bound and slain by the priest to suffer death for sin in 
place of man, and its blood was sprinkled upon the 
altar, the typical emblem of the presence of God. Fi- 
nally it was burnt, that the odor might ascend to God. 
Ex. 29 : 18, 25, Lev. 17 : 11, Heb. 9 : 22. 

While through the sin-offerings the sins of the single 
individual were atoned for, the sacrifice on the great 
day of atonement was offered by the high priest for the 
sins of all the people. Lev. 16, 23, Num. 29, John 11 : 
50-52, Heb. 9 : 11-28. Christ is both high priest and 
sacrifice at the same time. 

2. The Passover and its Repetition. — Ex. 12, 
1 Cor. 5 : 7, John 19; 36. Christ connects the insti- 
tution of the holy supper with the passover and its sig- 
nificance. Matt. 26: 17,26-29. 

3. The Temple and Priesthood. — Heb. 5-10, 
John 1 ; 19, 21. 

4. The Manna. — Ex. 16: 15; and the rock which 
gave, forth water in the desert. Ex. 17 : 6, 1 Cor. 10 : 
3, 4, John 6 : 31-35. 

5. The Brazen Serpent. — Num. 21 : 4-9, John 
3 : 14, 15. The serpent, the image of the curse — Christ 
became a curse for us, Gal. 3 : 13 ; the serpent lifted 
up upon a pole — Christ upon the wood, 1 Peter 2 : 24 ; 
the believing look upon the serpent brought healing — 
faith in Christ, the one who is lifted upon the cross and 



72 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



exalted into heaven, brings redemption and deliverance 
from destruction, John 3 : 16. 

III. The Fulfillment in the New Testament. 

1. In Christ all (promises, prophecies and types) has 
been fulfilled, i. e., has come to its perfect realization. 
That which was indicated by prophecy in word and 
deed, is realized in Him. This He indicates in the 
following passages ; Mark 1 : 15, Luke 22 : 37 ; 24 : 
25-27, 44, John 5 : 46 ; 1 : 45, Acts 3 : 18, Rom 1:1, 
2, 2 Cor. 1 : 20. 

2. In many passages of the New Testament Christ 
and His apostles appeal expressly to this, that definite 
promises have been fulfilled in Him, with the remark ; 
"As it is written," or, "in order that the Scripture 
might be fulfilled." The following might yet be added 
as the most important passages : 

a) Christ.— Matt. 21 : 16 (Ps. 8 : 2)— Matt. 21 : 
42 (Ps. 118: 22)— Matt. 22: 43, 44 (Ps. 110: 1) — 
Luke 4 : 21 (Isa. 61 : 1)— John 13 : 18 (Ps. 41 : 9) 
—John 15: 25 (Ps. 69: 4). 

b) The Apostles.— Matt, 1 : 22 (Isa. 7 : 14)— Matt. 
2 : 15 (Ex. 4 : 22, Hos. 11 : 1)— Matt. 8 : 17 (Isa. 53 : 
4, 5)— Matt. 12: 17-21 (Isa. 42: 1-4) Matt. 13 : 35 
(Ps. 78 : 2)— Matt. 21 : 4 (Zech. 9 : 9)— Matt. 27 : 35 
(Ps. 22 : 18)— Mark 15 : 28 (Isa. 53 : 12)— John 2 : 
17 (Ps. 69 : 9)— John 12 : 39-41 (Isa. 6: 9, 10)— John 
19: 24 (Ps. 22: 18)— John .19: 28 (Ps. 22: 15)- 
Johnl9: 36 (Ps. 34 : 20)— John 19: 37 (Zech 12: 
10)— Acts 2: 34-36 (Ps. 110: 1)— Acts 13: 33 (Ps. 
2 : 7)— Acts 13 : 47 (Isa. 42 : 6)— 1 Cor. 15 : 54 (Isa. 
25: 8, Hos. 13: 14)— Heb. 2: 6-9 (Ps. 8: 4-6) — 
Heb. 10: 5-10 (Ps. 40: 7-9). 

In the old covenant faith was to be awakened and 
hope enlivened through the promises, prophecies and 
types in prospect of their fulfillment. The retrospect 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 73 



of the prophecies and their fulfillment, the latter of 
which is not yet fully accomplished (Acts 3: 21), is 
given a place in the new covenant to strengthen faith 
and fill the heart with comfort. 

(For ordinary instruction it is sufficient to cite the 
promises under A and B, b and c ; of the prophecies, 
Isa. 53 ; of the personal types, Isaac and Joseph ; of the 
material types, the sacrifices and the brazen serpent.) 

Question 20. 

Are all men, then, as they perished in Adam, saved by Christ? 

No, only those who are ingrafted into him, and receive all his 
benefits by a true faith. 

1. All men, as descendants of Adam, conceived and 
born in sin and living in sin, are lost, i. e., have become 
subject to judgment and condemnation. Rom. 5 : 12, 
18. The point of comparison is not found in the un- 
limited extension of condemnation and justification upon 
all men, but in this, that both proceed from one person, 
the former from the first and the latter from the second 
Adam, and that in the nature itself of men there is no 
difference. Verse 18 is supplemented by v. 19. Cal- 
vin says on v. 18 : a As it has come to pass through the 
judgment of God that the sin of one abides to the con- 
demnation of many, so grace becomes effective to the 
righteousness of many." Lampe says : " It indicates no 
less than that Christ is the head of all those who are 
saved, just as Adam was the head of all those who have 
fallen under condemnation. Not all will be saved." 
Matt. 7 : 13, 14 ; 22 : 14. 

2. In order that we may be rescued from destruction 
and be saved, i. e., delivered, which according to Scrip- 
ture can only be accomplished through Christ, we must 
come into communion with Him, which again is only 
possible through faith in Him, as the means ordained 
by God for this end. John 3 : 16, Mark 16 : 16. 

10 



74. THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



3. Faith is the means ordained by God, but it is not 
demanded as a condition which man in his own strength 
has to fulfil. For this he is not at all capable of doing 
in his sinful condition (compare Ques. 8). It also does 
not say, therefore, in Question 20 that man through 
faith incorporates himself, i. e., engrafts himself into 
Christ, but that he is engrafted into Him by faith. 
Neither is it first mentioned that he appropriates the 
benefits of Christ according to his own pleasure, but 
that he is engrafted into Christ. Faith has reference 
to both being engrafted into Christ and to the appro- 
priation of His benefits, but each in its order. 

4. Faith does not ground itself in the will of man, 
and is not a work or an act of the same, but it is a work 
of the Spirit of God in the soul of man, whereby the 
will of the called sinner is constrained to receive Christ 
alone and entirely as the ground of righteousness and 
the source of life.' 2 Thess. 3 : 2, Luke 13 : 24, John 
3 : 27, John 3 : 8, Eph. 2 : 8, John 6 : 29. 

5. Through faith we are incorporated into Christ, i. 
e., engrafted into His body. We are to understand by 
this in the first place that we are brought inwardly, 
spiritually into most intimate fellowship with His per- 
son, and the consequence of this is that we are then also 
true members of His spiritual body, which is the com- 
munion of those who are redeemed and sanctified 
through Him. " Engrafted into Him" also points 
toward this, that the union with Christ is not mechani- 
cal, external, but organic, living. As the living sap 
flows from the stem into the branches which grow upon 
the tree and into those which are grafted upon it, and 
as the blood is conveyed from the heart, the centre of 
the human organism, through the veins into the mem- 
bers of the body as a living power, and as all the mem- 
bers are held together by the sinews and joints, so life 
proceeds from Christ only to those who are incorporated 
into Him. John 15 : 5, Eph. 5 : 30, Eph. 4 : 15, 16 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 75 



In explanation of the idea of engrafting, the picture in 
Rom. 11 : 17 may also be adduced, according to which 
wild branches are engrafted upon the noble olive tree, 
and through the impartation of its sap they also then 
bear noble fruit. This kind of ennobling, or rather 
regeneration, renewing of the olive tree is to-day yet 
customary in the East. 

6. In like manner we receive through faith only, 
wrought by the Holy Ghost, the benefits of Christ, 
viz.. forgiveness of sin, righteousness and eternal 
life ; for the natural man has neither understanding of 
nor pleasure in these. 1 Cor. 2 : 14, John 1 : 12, Acts 
26: 18. 

7. Not all is gold that glitters and not all is faith 
that is so called or accepted as such. A four-fold false 
faith is to be distinguished : 

a) An imaginary or self-constituted faith. Matt. 7 : 
21-23, 2 Tim. 3 : 5 ; 4 : 3, 4. 

#1 An historical or intellectual faith i. e., the mere 
formal appropriation of the proclamation of salvation 
and the mere knowledge of it. Acts 26 : 27, James 
2: 19. 

c) A temporal faith, i. e., the assent to the truth, but 
without remaining constant in it. Luke 8 : 13, John 
6 : 66, Heb. 6 : 4-6. 

d) A faith in miracles, i. e. 9 a faith that works mira- 
cles without being alive in love. 1 Cor. 13 : 2, Matt. 7 : 
22, 23. 

8. By true faith alone we are engrafted into Christ 
and receive all His benefits. As examples, we have 
the believing thief on the cross, Luke 23 : 42, 43 ; the 
refusal and the acceptance of the invitation in the para- 
ble of the Great Supper, Luke 14 : 16-24 ; the lack of 
the wedding garment in the parable of the wedding of 
the king's son, Matt. 22 : 1-14. After establishing in 
Question 20 that we are saved by faith only, Question 



76 THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 



21 treats of how faith must be constituted, or of its 
nature ; and Questions 22 and 23 of what is to be be- 
lieved, or of the contents of faith. 

Question 21. 

What is true faith t 

True faith is not only a certain knowledge, whereby I hold for 
truth all that God has revealed to us in his word, but also an assured 
confidence, which the Holy Ghost works by the Gospel in my heart ; 
that not only to others, but to me also, remission of sin, everlasting 
righteousness, and salvation, are freely given by God, merely of 
grace, only for the sake of Christ's merits. 

In ordinary speech we distinguish between believing 
anything and believing in a person. The former has 
reference to holding anything for truth, the latter to 
trust in a person. Merely to hold for truth what some 
one has stated is blind faith. To a true faith in divine 
things belongs above all the knowledge of the truth and 
conviction of the same because God has revealed it. Thus 
we distinguish also in true faith, 1. The knowledge 
and acceptance of the divine truth, that we believe what 
has been revealed to us ; and 2. Such confidence in God 
and personal surrender to Him that we believe on Him 
(place our confidence in Him and enter into His fellow- 
ship) . 

I. True Faith is a Certain Knowledge. 
A) Knowledge. 

1. If we are to believe on God, we must first know 
Him as the true God ; what we are to apprehend we 
must first know ; but we can only learn to know and to 
apprehend the true God when He reveals Himself to us, 
i. e. y manifests and makes Himself known to us. He 
has revealed Himself to us in creation. Rom. 1 ; 19, 20. 
But that we have not only an almighty, but also a mer- 
ciful God, who saves the sinner, we know only from 
the revelation in His Word, and through Jesus Christ, 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



77 



His only begotten Son. 2 Tim. 3 : 15, 16, John 9 : 
35, 36. 

2. A certain knowledge, in the Latin translation of the 
Catechism " certa notitia," does not refer so much to a 
particular kind of knowledge, but to an exact,definite, firm 
knowledge, even as the revelation of God in His Word 
is clear and definite. 2 Peter 1 : 19, John 4 : 42, com- 
pare also v. 10, " If thou knewest the gift of God," etc. 

B) Assent or Acceptance. 

1. The human understanding can search the Word 
of God and learn to know it as any other book, but it 
attains only a knowledge of the letter, and will never 
come to the knowledge of the truth of itself, without the 
working of the Holy Ghost. 1 Cor. 2 : 14. But through 
the testimony of the Holy Ghost we come to the 
conviction that God's Word is the truth ; we not 
merely recognize God's Word, but also hold it as true, 
recognize it as the truth, assent to it and approve of it, 
and thereby become free from the doubts which the 
world and our own flesh excite against the Word of 
God. 1 Cor. 2 : 13, John 8 : 32, 1 John 2 : 27. 

2. It belongs also to a true faith that one not merely 
accepts and holds as true this and that which may be 
agreeable to one in the Word of God, but everything 
that God has revealed in it. The old Reformed prin- 
ciple is, the Word and the entire Word, and nothing 
but the Word. Acts 24 ; 14, 1, Paul, believe all things 
which are written in the law and the prophets. For us 
there is yet to be added what has been written by the 
evangelists and apostles. 

II. True Faith is a Hearty Confidence. 

1. " Not alone" — " but also." This indicates that true 
faith consists in knowledge and confidence. The ex- 
pression " not alone" does not put a slight estimate upon 
knowledge, but represents it as of equal worth with 



78 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



confidence. At the same time it expresses the idea that 
knowledge, including recognition, does not in itself 
constitute true faith. That there necessarily belongs to 
it also an acknowledgment and acceptance of the truth 
and a trustful surrender to Him who is the truth. 1 
Cor. 13 ; 2. 

2. As we can not attain to true knowledge and accep- 
tance of the revealed truth of ourselves, but only through 
the Holy Ghost, so also the confidence which is hearty, 
i. e., coming from the heart and filling the whole heart, 
thus also certain and firm, can only be wrought in us 
by the Holy Ghost. This is accomplished as well 
through the power of the Holy Ghost residing in the 
Word of God itself as in the experience (John 7 : 17) 
which we acquire under His direction. " Not only to 
others, but to me also," points to the fact that our rela- 
tion of faith to God must be a personal one. The 
knowledge and the experience of salvation wrought by 
the Holy Ghost brings the certainty of salvation which 
alone gives to the heart perfect comfort, rest, peace and 
joy in life and in death. 

a) Hearty Confidence. — Rom. 10: 10, Heb. 11 : 
1, John 20 : 29, 2 Cor. 4 : 18. Among all the exam- 
ples of faith in Holy Scripture, Abraham stands at the 
head, the father of all who believe (Rom. 4 : 11). Rom. 
4: 20, 21, Heb. 11 : 17-19. 

b) Which the Holy Ghost works in us. — Matt. 
16 : 17, Acts 16 : 14, 1 Cor. 12 : 3. 

c) Through the Gospel. — Rom. 1 : 16 ; 10 : 17. 

d) Assurance oe Salvation (to me also). — Eph. 
3 : 12, 1 Tim, 1 : 16, 2 Tim. 1 : 12, Rom. 8 : 28, 38, 
39, 2 Peter 1 : 10. 

3. His benefits (Ques. 20) which we receive and 
accept in true faith are : 

a) Forgiveness of Sins. — Matt. 9 : 2, Ps. 103 : 
1, 3. 



THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 79 



b) Everlasting Righteousness. — Dan. 9 : 24, 
Acts 13 : 39, Gal. 2 : 20. 

c) Eternal Salvation. — John 6 : 47 ; 10 : 28 ; 
12 : 26, 2 Tim. 4 : 7, 8. 

4. The ground upon which rests the impartation of 
these benefits is, 1. His grace, and 2. The merit of 
Christ. In that it happens merely of, i. e., (pure, free) 
grace and only for the sake of Christ's merits, all per- 
sonal merit, also a possible merit of faith itself, is 
absolutely excluded and the recognition of this actual 
relation in true faith is included. 

a) Merely of Grace.— Eph. 1 : 7 ; 2 : 8. 

b) Only for the Sake of Christ's Merits.— 
Eom. 3 : 24, Eph. 2 : 9. 

5. The end of faith is to receive Christ wholly and 
alone in the heart and to retain Him in it constantly. 
There is a growth, steps of faith. Rom. 1 : 17, Col. 1 : 
11, Eph. 4: 15; 4 : 13. There is a weak faith and a 
strong faith. A weak faith may also be true faith, 
when it is otherwise of the right kind. A fire is not at 
once a bright blazing flame, but it often starts with a 
single spark. Mark 9 : 24, Luke 17 : 5, Phil. 1 : 6, 
Heb. 12 : 2. But from weak faith is to be distin- 
guished an objectionable faint-hearted faith. Matt. 14 : 
31, Luke 24 : 25. Paul received a strong faith. Acts 
9 : 20, 22. It is a strong faith that overcomes the 
world and death. Acts 6 : 10, 1 John 5 : 4, 1 Cor. 15 : 
55. The strong faith which characterized the martyrs 
of early Christianity and of the time of the Reforma- 
tion is the result of the certainty of election in Christ. 
Mark 13 : 22, 2 Peter 1 : 10. 

6. Dangers threaten true faith from all sides, from 
within and from without. 

From within (from the flesh, through the temptation 
of the devil) arises doubt. It overthrew the faith of 



80 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



Eve with the words " Did God indeed say ?" James 
1: 6. 

From without the world, steeped in unbelief and 
superstition, assails faith. It derides true faith as child- 
ish. But the Lord said (Matt. 11 : 25), I thank thee, 
O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, etc. Matt. 18 : 3. 
True faith is said to be in conflict with enlightenment. 
This is said by those of whom the Scriptures say that 
their understanding is darkened * * * through the 
ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of 
their heart. Eph. 4 : 18, 2 Cor. 4 : 4. True faith is 
said to be irreconcilable with culture. Then culture is 
false. And so it is. That which the world commonly 
calls culture is directed merely toward that which is 
earthly both in body and in spirit and leaves the heart 
empty. 2 Cor. 3 : 18. To be transformed into the 
image of Christ who is the image of God, that is the 
highest culture. It is said that true faith offends 
against the spirit of the times. What the latter is, a 
prophet of the world (Goethe) has excellently said 
" that which you call the spirit of the times is in reality 
the spirit of the men themselves.'' This Zeitgeist 
changes with the people and the times. 2 Cor. 3 : 18, 
Heb. 13 : 8, Phil. 3 : 20, Heb. 12 : 28. 

We are not to allow ourselves to be led away, or to 
be frightened from true faith. Zwingli says, " Not to 
fear is the best defence." Scripture warns and admon- 
ishes. 2 Peter 3 : 17, 1 Tim. 1 : 18, 19. We also have 
firm ground under our feet; the others have not. John 
4 : 22, Heb. 10 : 39, Prov. 18 : 10. Emperor William 
I. of Germany (died March 9, 1888) confessed on his 
death bed : The name of the Lord has been my help. 



THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 



81 



ftuestion 22. 

What is then necessary for a Christian to believe t 

All things promised us in the gospel, which the articles of our 
Catholic, undoubted Christian faith briefly teach us. 

1. True faith is based upon the promises of the gos- 
pel, and these are also its object and contents. Acts 24 : 
14, John 3: 33. 

2. The gospel, or the Word of God, is on this account 
the only rule of faith. Isa. 30 : 21, Deut. 28 : 14. All 
the statutes and institutions of men are excluded, even 
the so-called oral traditions of the apostles. Hence also 
the Apostles' Creed cannot be placed on the same level 
with the Holy Scriptures. It is merely a summary of 
the most important facts and doctrines of salvation con- 
tained in the Scriptures. 

3. A creed is also called a " symbol," which signifies 
a watchword, by which soldiers recognize each other, or 
a standard around which they rally. 

4. It is called catholic, because, as the oldest confes- 
sion of faith, it is accepted by all Christian Churches, 
and forms a bond of union between them. 

5. Undoubted, i. e., beyond all doubt, because its ar- 
ticles are based upon the Holy Scriptures. 

6. It is called Christian, because it embraces the fun- 
damental doctrines of the Christian faith, without the 
recognition of which no one can lay claim to the name 
of Christian. 

7. It is finally called the Apostles' Creed. It received 
this name because the Church prior to the Reformation, 
believed, and the Church of to-day, outside of the Protes- 
tant (Roman and Greek), believes that it was composed 
by the Apostles before they departed from Jerusalem to 
go into all the world. This is an unfounded tradition. 
The catechism very wisely has not taken up with this 
designation, in order that it might not create misappre- 

11 



82 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



hension. The creed might be called apostolic, inas- 
much as its articles, although not composed by the Apos- 
tles themselves, are grounded upon their writings. It 
originated in the first centuries after Christ, by a grad- 
ual expansion of the baptismal formula (Matt. 28: 19), 
or of the answers to the questions in baptism, the 
so-called baptismal confession. The article " He de- 
scended into hell," was added at the latest in the sixth 
or seventh century. The baptismal confession, as it was 
used by our forefathers, reads as follows : Q. Dost thou 
believe in God the Father Almighty ? A. I believe in 
God the Father Almighty. Q. Dost thou believe in 
Christ, the Son of God ? A. I believe in Christ, the Son 
of God. Q. Dost thou believe in the Holy Ghost ? A. 
I believe in the Holy Ghost. 

8. The creed of the Reformed Church in Germany and 
in the United States, is besides this the Palatinate or 
Heidelberg Catechism. The Reformed Churches in oth- 
er countries have their own confessions, which, however, 
fully agree with our catechism. The latter was also re- 
cognized at the Synod of Dort (1618) by all the represen- 
tatives of the different Reformed Churches. 

THE HOLY TRINITY. 
Question 23 

What are these articles t 

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and 
Earth : And in Jesus Christ his only begotten Son our Lord : Who 
was conceived by the Holy Ghost : Born of the Virgin Mary : Suf- 
fered under Pontius Pilate : Was crucified, dead and buried : He de- 
scended in Hell : The third day he rose from the dead : He ascended in- 
to Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Al- 
mighty : From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. 
I believe in the Holy Ghost : I believe in the Holy Catholic Church): 
The Communion of saints : The Forgiveness of Sins : The Resurrec- 
tion of the Body : And the life everlasting. Amen. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 83 



Question 24. 

How are these articles divided f 

Into three parts : the first is of God the Father, and our creation ; 
the second of God the Son, and our redemption ; the third of God 
the Holy Ghost, and our sanctifi cation. 

1. The creed is divided into twelve articles, and 
these, according to their inner connection, are grouped 
into three parts. 

2. The division is in accord with the three persons of 
the one Divine Being therein confessed, (Matt. 28 : 
19). Such acts are mentioned as are especially as- 
cribed and attributed to each individual person. This 
does not mean that each of the three persons of the one 
Divine Being acted independently. The acts of the 
Holy Trinity are as indissoluble as the Trinity itself, 
and the distinction is made only to facilitate the clear ex- 
position and explanation of the different acts, in the rev- 
elation of each of which one person appears prominently. 

3. God the Father has created us — and the whole 
world (Gen. 1 : 1), by the Son (Gen. 1 : 3, John 1 : 1-3, 14, 
Col. 1 : 16), in union with the Holy Ghost (Gen. 1:2). 

God the Son has redeemed us (1 Tim. 2 : 6), He be- 
ing sent by the Father (John 3 : 16, Gal. 4:4), through 
the Holy Ghost (John 1 : 32). 

God the Holy Ghost sanctifies us (effects our sancti- 
fication, i. e., our renewal. 2 Thess. 2 : 13), sent by the 
Father, (John 14 : 16, 17), and by the Son (John 16 : 7). 

Question 25. 

Since there is but one divine essence, why speakest thou of Father, 
Son and Holy Ghost f 

Because God hath so revealed himself in his word that these three 
distinct persons are the only true and eternal God. 

I. The One Divine Being in Three Persons. 

1. The words " triune," " trinity," do not occur in the 
Bible, and the catechism, in conformity with its pure 



84 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



biblical character, avoids the use of it. But it is a 
coucise expression of the doctrine, which the catechism 
also presents on the basis of the divine revelation in the 
Scriptures as the fundamental doctrine of the Christian 
faith. The expression came into use in the doctrinal 
discussions of the first centuries, when the truth of Chris- 
tian doctrine needed to be defended against heretics. 
The so-called Athanasian creed sums up the result in 
the following sentences : 

And the true Christian faith is this : That we wor- 
ship one God in trinity, and trinity in uuity ; neither 
confounding the persons : nor dividing the substance. 

For there is one person of the Father : another of 
the Son : and another of the Holy Ghost. But the 
godhead of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy 
is all one : the glory equal, the majesty eternal. 

Such as the Father is : such is the Son : aud such 
the Holy Ghost, 

The Father uncreated : the Son uncreated : and the 
Holy Ghost uncreated. 

The Father unlimited : the Son unlimited : and the 
Holy Ghost unlimited. 

The Father eternal : the Son eternal : and the Holy 
Ghost eternal. And yet there are not three eternals, 
but one eternal. As also there are not three uncreated, 
nor three infinites, but one uncreated aud one infinite. 

So likewise the Father is almighty : the Son al- 
mighty : and the Holy Ghost almighty. And yet there 
are not three Almighties : but one Almighty. 

So the Father is God : the Son is God : and the Holy 
Ghost is God. And yet there are not three Gods : but 
one God. 

So likewise the Father is Lord : the Son Lord : and 
the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three Lords : but 
one Lord. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



85 



For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity 
to acknowledge every Person by Himself to be God 
and Lord : So we are forbidden by the Christian faith 
so say there are three Gods or three Lords. 

The Father is made of none, neither created nor be- 
gotten. 

The Son is of the Father alone, not made nor cre- 
ated, but begotten. 

The Holy Ghost is of the Father and of the Son, 
neither made nor begotten, but proceeding. 

So there is one Father, not three Fathers ; one Son, 
not three Sons : one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. 

And in this Trinity none is afore or after another; 
none is greater nor less than another. But the whole 
three Persons are coeternal and coequal. 

So that in all things, as aforesaid, the Unity in Trin^ 
ity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped. 

The Latin word persona does not expressly occur in 
the Bible, but an expression which means the same 
thing is found in Heb. 1 : 3, " the express image of his 
person." By person we understand a self-conscious 
and independent being, who by His own power can 
say " I." It is self-evident that this human mode of 
speech is a defective representation of the Divine Being, 
as God Himself cannot be defined (limited, ideally rep- 
resented), because He is unlimited, and to comprehend 
Him perfectly, surpasses man's power of thought. God 
dwells in thick darkness (1 Kings 8: 12), and God 
dwells in light which no man can approach unto (1 
Tim. 6 : 16), have the same meaning, namely that 
God's Being cannot be comprehended by man, who can 
know God only in so far as He is pleased to reveal 
Himself. 

2. The invisible God we can know only from His rev- 
elation of Himself. There are three modes of divine 
revelation : 



86 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



a) Creation. Bom. 1 : 19, 20, Heb. 3 : 4. 

b) Conscience. Kom. 2 : 14, 15. 

c) From creation we can learn in general, that there 
is a God, and that He is omnipotent and all-wise ; from 
conscience, that there is a holy and just God, who hates 
and punishes evil. But these modes of cognition do 
not lead us any further. Only the revelation contained 
in His Word enables us to attain a full knowledge of 
God, in so far as this is possible to man, (Ex. 32 : 18-23), 
without the last veil being lifted. This will take place 
when we shall pass from faith to sight, and shall see 
God face to face (1 Cor. 13': 12). 

3. God has revealed His Being in His Word. 

a) By His names. 

b) By the testimony of the Spirit. 

• a) The most important names are : God, Jehovah, 
Sabaoth, Lord. God or Elohim expresses the fulness of 
all perfection ; Jehovah, His eternal and unchangeable 
Being ; Sabaoth, the fulness of His power, and Lord, the 
possession of highest, unlimited power, His sovereignty. 
b) The testimony of the Spirit : 

I. God is one. He in Himself is one and is the only 
true God, besides whom there is none other (Deut. 6 : 
4, Mark 12: 29). It was the high calling of Israel 
among all nations to preserve the knowledge of the one 
true God. (Isa. 43 : 11, Hosea 13 : 4, Isa. 42 : 8, 1 Cor, 
8: 4-6). 

II. God is a Spirit. He is perfect in His attributes, 
and unlimited. He penetrates and fills all things (John 
4: 24). 

III. God is light. He is the Fountain of all wisdom. 
(1 John 1 : 5, James 1 : 17). 

IV. God is love. He does not wrap himself up in 
Himself, but communicates Himself and His gifts ; from 
Him alone comes all true love. (1 John 4: 16). 

V. God is life. He alone is the living One and the 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 87 



Fountain of all life. (John 5 : 26, John 14 : 6, 
Jer. 10: 10). 

4. Especially has God thus revealed Himself in His 
Word that these three distinct persons (Father, Son and 
Holy Ghost) are the only true eternal God. 

a) The Trinity is foreshadowed in the Old Testa- 
ment, but the knowledge thereof is veiled. (Gen. 1 : 1, 
2, .3, John 1 : 1-3, Ps. 33 : 6, Numb. 6 : 24-26, Isa, 6 : 3, 
Isa. 48: 16). 

b) The Trinity is clearly revealed in the New Tes- 
tament. (Matt. 3 : 16, 17, Matt. 28 : 19, Acts 20 : 28, 
2 Cor. 13: 14, 1 Peter 1:2). 

5. Personality, i. e., distinct self-consciousness and in- 
dependence (the Ego) of the Father, of the Son, and of 
the Holy Ghost, is clearly seen in the following passages 
of Scripture, in which are ascribed to each of the three, 
personal attributes, understanding and will, as well as 
separate acts and different names (Father, Son and 
Holy Ghost). The succession is determined by the time 
of their special revelation (creation, redemption, sancti- 
fication). 

a) God the Father. He is the invisible One. (Eph. 
4 : 6, Matt. 3 : 17, John 14, 16). 

b) God the Son. He is the One who reveals. In 
the Old Testament the angel of the Lord with Abraham 
and Moses, the cloud in the desert, and in the Holy of 
Holies, the face of God (Ex. 3), the rock which fol- 
lowed them (1 Cor. 10: 4). In the New Testament, 
John 1 : 18, Matt. 11 : 27, John 1 : 1, 14, John 5 : 26, 
Heb. 1 : 3, 1 John 3 : 8, John 10 : 30, Acts 9 : 5. 

c) God the Holy Ghost. He is the Mediator through 
whom God communicates Himself (John 14 : 26, Acts 
5 : 3, 4, Acts 10 : 19, 20, Acts 13 : 2, 1 Cor. 12 : 11). 

6. The three persons in the Godhead are one in es- 
sence, but there is a distinction in their acts. They are 
distinct, but not separate. If one were to ask how it is 



88 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



possible that one equals three and three equals one, the 
answer would be, the incomprehensible God is not an 
arithmetical problem. The Trinity is not contrary to 
reason, but above reason ; and notwithstanding the rev- 
elation which we have, will forever remain for us, (who 
are limited in our understanding of the divine relations,) 
an unfathomable secret, which we believe without mak- 
ing it the object of subtle inquiry (Rom. 11 : 33). 

7. The doctrine of thb Holy Trinity is fundamental 
in the Christian faith. It distinguishes Christianity es- 
sentially on the one hand from the rigid monotheism of 
the Jews and of Mohammedanism, and on the other 
hand from the deification of the universe, and the poly- 
theism of the heathen. 

n. The Attributes of God. 

It is customary to treat the attributes of God in con- 
nection with question 25. A mere enumeration and 
definition of them is, however, not sufficient. In- 
struction must use them for admonition as well as for 
comfort, and must be enlivened by the introduction of 
biblical history and suitable stanzas or hymns. It may 
also be recommended that the children be encouraged 
to look up illustrations in the biblical history with 
which they are familiar, thereby inducing them to make 
practical use of the Word of God. 

1. The Being of God does not divide itself in His at- 
tributes, as a whole may be separated into its parts ; for 
these " attributes" are only the effulgence, the manifes- 
tations of His Being in different relations, as the same 
light of the sun manifests itself in the different colors 
of the rainbow. 

2. We distinguish the attributes of God ; 

a. In His relation to the world. 

b. In His relation to man. 

c. In His relation to Himself. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 89 



A Relation of God to the World. 

1. Omnipotence. — God has made everything. And 
creates at all times what He wills. Gen. 17: 1, Isa. 
40 : 26, Ps. 33 : 9, Ps. 115 : 3, Luke 1 : 37. 

a) Admonition : That we humble ourselves before 
God. Matt. 10: 28. The humility of Abraham, the 
" friend" of God. Gen. 18 : 27. 

b) Comfort : That we trust under all circumstances 
in the protection and help of God. 1 Sam. 14 : 6. Gid- 
eon with his small army. Judges 7. 

2. Omnipresence. — God is and works everywhere 
at the same time, and nothing can circumscribe or limit 
Him, who is immeasurable. Ps. 139 : 7-10, Jer. 23 : 
23, 24, 1 Kings 8 : 27. 

a) Admonition : That we so fear God as not to be 
willing to sin even in secret. The temptation of Jo- 
seph. Gen. 39 : 11. 

b) Comfort : That we are everywhere and at all times 
in the hand of God. Matt. 28 : 20, Isa. 43 : 1-3, Gen. 
28: 15. 

3. Omniscience. — God knows all things, past as well 
as present and future, and He sees even the most hid- 
den thoughts of the heart. Acts 15 : 18, Ps. 139 : 16, 
1-4. 

a) Admonition : That we at all times are mindful of 
the fact that the eves of God are upon us. Ps. 14 : 2, 
Josh. 7 : 13. 

b) Comfort : That we are persuaded that all our inner 
and outer wants are known unto God. Matt. 6 : 32, 
Rev. 2 : 9, 1 Kings 17 : 8-16. 

4. All- Wise. — In the creation and government of 
the world, no less than in the guidance of His children, 
the ends which God seeks, and the means which He 
employs, are the best. Ps. 104 : 24, Isa, 28 : 29 ; 55: 
9, Rom. 16 : 27, 

12 



90 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



a) Admonition : That we are not to be perplexed by 
His Providence, even if we do not understand it, and 
that we are not obstinately to choose our own ways. 
John 13 : 7, Isa. 57 : 10, Acts 10 : 9-17, 34 ; 11 : 12. 

b) Comfort : That we fully trust iu the guidance of 
God in the smallest things, as well as in the greatest. 
Ps. 37 : 5 ; 73 : 24, Gen. 50 : 20. 

B— Relation of God to Man. 

5. Holiness. — God Himself is without the least spot 
or stain. He loves the good and hates the evil. Deut. 
32 : 4, Hab. 1 : 13, 1 Peter 1 : 16, Ps. 5 : 4. 

a) Admonition : That we be filled with holy rever- 
ence of God and abhor sin. Matt. 6 ; 9, 1 Peter 3 : IS, 
Exod. 19 : 10. 

b) Comfort : The Lord Himself by Jesus Christ takes 
away the uncleanness which separates us from His 
holiness. Ezek. 36 : 25, 29, John 17 : 19, 1 John 1 : 7, 
Luke 7 : 36-50. 

6. Righteousness. — God Himself does right in all 
His acts. He punishes evil without respect of persons, 
and blesses those who are devoted to Him in Christ 
and live according to His good pleasure. Ps. 145 : 17, 
Rom. 2 : 6, 11, Ps. 5 : 12, Matt. 10 : 41, Luke 6 : 23. 

a) Admonition : That we fear to provoke the right- 
eous anger of God by our sins, and that we seek after 
His righteousness. Heb. 12: 29, Matt, 6: 33. The 
disobedience of Israel. Num. 14 : 35. 

b) Comfort : That Christ has rendered full satisfac- 
tion to the justice of God ; that we through faith have 
the righteousness which avails before God ; and that 
in Him we are and remain blest of God. Rom. 4:5; 
3 : 26, 1 Chron. 17 : 27, 1 Peter 3 : 9. The blessing 
of Abraham. Gen. 22 : 16-18. 

7. Goodness, Grace and Mercy, Patience and 
LongsufferinGt. — All these are manifestations of the 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 91 



love of God. Exod. 34 : 6. His goodness, i. e., His 
benevolence as Creator, extends to all men. Ps. 145 : 9, 
Matt. 5 : 45. His grace and mercy, i. e., His unde- 
served love in forgiving sin, He bestows only upon the 
elect. Rom. 9 : 15. His patience and longsuffering 
are the forbearance which He exercises toward uncon- 
verted sinners and toward His weak children. 1 Peter 
3 : 20, 9. 

a) Admonition : That we do not despise God's good- 
ness, patience and longsuffering (Rom. 2:4), nor wan- 
tonly abuse His grace by sinning against knowledge. 
Jude 4, Heb. 10 : 26. The flood. Gen. 6 : 3, 7 ; 
7 : 23. 

b) Comfort : That we may comfort ourselves in the 
presence of all the attacks of sin, and of all evils. Ps. 
32 : 10, 2 Cor. 12 : 9, 2 Peter 3 : 15. The parable of 
the prodigal son. Luke 15. 

8. Tkuth and Faithfulness. — God is the source of 
all truth, and His Word inviolable. Ps. 33 : 4, Num. 
23 : 19, 1 Thess. 5 : 24. 

a) Admonition : That we acknowledge that God 
alone is true ; that all men (as long as they are not of 
the truth) are liars (Ps. 116 : 11), and that we obedi- 
entlv walk in the truth. John 17 : 17, 3 John 4. An- 
anias and Sapphira. Acts 5. 

b) Comfort : That in every temptation we are cer- 
tain that God keeps forever the covenant of His grace 
with His elect. Isa. 54 : 10, Luke 18 : 7, 2 Thess. 3 : 3, 
1 Cor. 10 : 13. The parable of the lost sheep. Luke 
15. God's covenant with Abraham, Jacob, and the 
people of Israel. 

C— Relation of God to Himself. 

9. Eternity and Unchangeableness. — God is 
without beginning or end. He remains forever the 
same in His being, decrees and acts. Ps. 90 : 2-4, James 
1 : 17. 



92 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



a) Admonition : That we look not at the things which 
are seen, but at the things which are not seen : for the 
things which are seen are temporal, but the things 
which are not seen are eternal. The witnesses of the 
faith. Heb. 11 : 13, 14. 

b) Comfort : That we are renewed after the image of 
the eternal God for eternity. Heb. 12 : 28, Rev. 22 : 5. 

10. All-Sufficiency and Blessedness. — God pos- 
sesses in Himself from eternity the fullness of all per- 
fection. Acts 17 : 24, 25, 1 Tim. 6 : 15. 

a) Admonition : That we seek in Him alone our sal- 
vation. Isa, 45 : 22. 

b) Comfort : That we find in and through God the 
fullness of satisfaction. Ps. 73 : 25, 26. 

11. Glory and Majesty. — The being and the 
power of God are exalted over all, and incomparable, 
incomprehensible, and yet traceable in all His works 
and ways. Ps. 104 : 1, Jer. 10 : 6, Num. 14 : 21. The 
glory and majesty of God enveloped Moses. Exod. 33. 
Isaiah and John saw them in vision. Isa. 6, Rev. 1. 
Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, 
and to present you faultless before the presence of His 
glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God, our 
Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, 
both now and forever. Amen. Jude 24, 25. 

OF GOD THE FATHEP. 
Question 26 

What believest thou when thou sayest, "I believe in God the Father 
Almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth?" 

That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (who of noth- 
ing made heaven and earth, with all that is in them, who likewise 
upholds and governs the same by his eternal counsel and provi- 
dence,) is for the sake of Christ his Son, my God and my Father ; 
on whom I rely so entirely, that I have no doubt but he will pro- 
vide me with all things necesary for body and soul ; and further, 



THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 93 



that he will make whatever evils he sends upon me in this valley of 
tears turn out to my advantage; for he is able to do it, being 
Almighty God, and willing, being a faithful Father. 

What are we to understand by this, that God is 
called " Father," "Almighty" and " Creator ?" In the 
exposition of true faith " certain knowledge" is first. 

A— God the Father. 

1. God is called Father, because he is the eternal 
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only true 
God who has revealed Himself as Father in Christ Je- 
sus through the Holy Ghost. Eph. 1 : 3, John 17 : 3. 

2. God is the Father of Jesus Christ, not from the 
time of His incarnation and temporal birth, but He is 
His eternal Father, i. e., from eternity before all crea- 
tures, and the Son of God is of like eternal being as 
the Father. Col. 1 : 15, John 17 : 5. 

B— The Almighty. 

1. In the Apostles' Creed the first article ought to be 
translated : I believe in God the Father, the Almighty, 
creator of heaven and earth, the way in which it is 
given in the first and oldest editions of the Heidelberg 
Catechism. In the middle ages, e. g., in the baptismal 
confession, which the Franks and Saxons used, the 
word "Almighty" was joined to Father to qualify it, 
and later to " Creator," which is now the general usage. 

2. Omnipotence is the power of God which He mani- 
fests in His works. Jer. 32 : 17. 

C— The Creator of Heaven and Earth. 

1. God created the heavens and the earth, with all 
that is in them, out of nothing. To create means to 
bring forth something out of nothing, i. e., without the 
presence of matter, and without the use of implements 
by a mere act of the will. To make, on the contrary, 



94 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



means to fashion something out of matter and with 
implements. When "create" is used of men, it relates 
either to the spiritual sphere or to the construction of a 
great work ; and wh^n " make" is used of God, it is in 
the sense of create. Heb. 11 : 3, Rom. 4: 17. 

2. By " the heavens and the earth and all that is in 
them" we understand the whole world, the visible and 
the invisible. 

3. Heaven (in the Hebrew, Gen. 1:1, the heavens) 
signifies in the Scriptures not only the visible firmament, 
or the space in which innumerable heavenly bodies 
move, but also the place (1 Kings 8 : 27) in which the 
unveiled glory of God manifests itself, and in which the 
created, unfallen spirits, the angels, are present in count- 
less multitudes. Therefore God is called the Lord of 
Sabaoth, that is, the Lord of Hosts. Gen. 32 : 1, 2, 
Dan. 7: 10, Luke 2: 13. 

The creation of the invisible heavens preceded the 
creation of the earth, atmosphere, and the starry firma- 
ment. The angels who inhabit it were created by God 
pure and holy spirits ; but some fell away from God, 
and therefore holy angels are spoken of and fallen 
angels, or devils, who did not continue in the truth. 

a) The good or holy angels (the word angel signifies 
messenger, ambassador) are pure spirits, who are con- 
stantly in the presence and service of God. Matt. 18 : 
10, Ps. 103 : 20. As such their activity extends 
throughout the entire creation, and the Scriptures know 
nothing of the reign of blind, natural forces. Ps. 104 : 
4, Heb. 1 : 7, John 5 : 4. (Healing power was exerted 
each time by the angel in the pool.) 

Especially are angels active, in accordance with the 
divine will and command, in behalf of the kingdom of 
God on earth. 

1. In its preparatory state — in the lives of the patri- 
archs, the judges and the prophets ; at the giving of 
the law. Acts 7 : 53. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



95 



2. At its appearance — in the life of Christ. Luke 1 : 
26 ; 2 : 8, 13, Matt. 4 : 11, John 1 : 51, .Luke 22 : 43, 
Matt. 28 : 2, Acts 1 : 10. In the lives of the Apostles. 
Acts 5 : 19 ; 8 : 26 (Philip) ; 12 : 7 (Peter) ; 27 : 23 
(Paul). 

3. For the service and protection of its members. 
Heb. 1 : 14, Ps. 91 : 11, 12, Matt. 18 : 10. 

4. At its completion — in Christ's second coming. 
Matt. 24: 31 ; 13: 41. 

b) The evil or fallen angels. Their head is the 
devil. (The word is derived from the Greek and 
means the same as slanderer.) He is also called satan 
(Job 2 : 7, Matt. 4 : 10), i. e., enemy, adversary ; tempter 
(Matt. 4:3); Prince of this world (John 14 : 30) ; liar, 
father of lies and murderers (John 8 : 44) ; Belial, i. e., 
the destroyer (2 Cor. 6 : 15) ; accuser (Rev. 12 : 10) ; 
the old serpent (Rev. 20: 2). The evil spirits are 
also called devils after him. Their power was espe- 
cially manifest during the time of the activity of the 
Son of God upon earth ; compare the demoniacs. 

The devil opposes the kingdom of God unto the end 
(Rev. 20: 10), in that he provokes the members to 
apostasy and the enemies to malice. Luke 22 : 31, 

1 Peter 5:8, 9, Eph. 6 : 11 ; 2 : 2, 2 Tim. 2 : 26, 

2 Cor. 4 : 4. The judgment against the devil and his 
angels is eternal damnation. 2 Peter 2 : 4. 

4. The creation of the heavens and the earth or of 
the visible world. The origination of the world of 
itself is impossible. Here the proverb is true, " out of 
nothing, nothing comes," i. e., of itself. The world was 
created by the almighty will of God, and by the word 
(John 1 : 1, 2, 14) in which He reveals Himself. The 
biblical account of the creation, (Gen. 1 : 1, 2) gives us 
over against all the conjectures of modern Natural 
Science, the most simple and certain information as to 
the origin of the world. We shall scarcely err if we 



96 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



refer this account to a revelation of God made to Adam, 
since we find echoes of the same among the oldest na- 
tions, the Babylonians and Assyrians. 

a) In the beginning does not mean when God had a 
beginning, but when the world began. In the creation 
time had its beginning, and with the creation, finite 
space had its beginning in the universe. 

b) The earth was void and without form. God first 
called into being matter, the material out of which 
worlds are made, out of which He formed in His six 
days' work the worlds, and among them the earth, with 
all that is in it, even the most minute created forms. 
In our planetary system the earth is the smallest body, 
but its creation is so minutely described because this 
revelation was made for its inhabitants. For this reason 
it appears in the account as the centre of creation. But 
in that which is least God would glorify himself most, 
and this has been accomplished by the incarnation of 
the Son of God upon this small world. 

c) The creation of the world has its ground, not in 
a necessity lying outside of God, but in His free coun- 
sel and will. The end for which He created it is His 
honor and glory. 

d) God created the world in six days. That a day 
of creation was a period of twenty-four hours is not ex- 
plicitly stated, and if we understand by day a period of 
creation, we do not in the least detract from the omnip- 
otence of the Creator. God could have called forth, 
had He so desired, in the twinkling of an eye the whole 
world complete in every detail. Ps. 90 : 4. Modern 
geological science assumes periods of evolution of thou- 
sands of years in the formation of the earth's surface. 
With the present results of geological researches, agrees 
also the biblical account of the order of creation. The 
Bible says : The earth was void and without form and 
darkness covered the deep. Geology says : In the be- 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



97 



ginning there were neither mountains nor continents. 
The earth was everywhere covered by the ocean, and a 
thick, impenetrable atmosphere enveloped it. The Bi- 
ble says : Then the dry land appeared. Geology says : 
Gradually there emerged from the ocean slight eleva- 
tions and marshy stretches of land. The Bible says : 
Then God created vegetation. Geology says : There 
followed an enormous development of large-sized 
plants, which are yet preserved to us in the form of 
coal. The Bible says : Only then did God cause the 
sun and moon to appear. Geology says : The uniform 
distribution of vegetation over the entire earth proves 
that at that time warmth and light were distributed 
differently from now, and that probably no change of 
seasons occurred. The Bible says : After vegetation 
God created fishes and birds. Geology says : After 
the carboniferous era followed immense numbers of 
creeping saurians, or animals, that swim in the water. 
At the same time there appeared also the first denizens 
of the air. The Bible says : Then were created four- 
footed animals. Geology says : With the cretaceous 
period there appeared fcur-footed animals and mam- 
mals. The Bible says : Lastly man was created. Ge- 
ology says : It is firmly established that during the 
carboniferous age, and at the time of the saurians, and 
the cretaceous formation, man did not yet exist upon 
the earth. Geology draws its conclusions from the 
examination of the earth's crust, and from the discov- 
eries thus made, without finding in the lifeless fossils 
the living God, as the Creator. As such, however, the 
Holy Scriptures, God's revelation in the living Word, 
teaches us to know Him. 

e) There is a correspondence between the first three 
and the last three days. On the first day God created 
the light, and on the fourth the heavenly luminaries, 
the starry firmament ; on the second He divided the 
13 



98 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



waters above (the clouds) and the waters below (the 
sea) by the atmosphere, and on the fifth He created 
fishes and birds, the animals that live in the water and 
those that live in the air ; on the third day the dry 
land and the vegetable world, and on the sixth the 
land animals and man. 

/) The order of creation is from the lower to the 
higher: first the mineral kingdom (lifeless bodies), 
then the vegetable kingdom (life without free move- 
ment), and lastly the animal kingdom (animated bod- 
ies). But where does man belong? King Frederick 
William IV. of Prussia was once visiting a school. He 
showed his gold ring with a precious stone on his fin- 
ger and asked : " To wkicn of the three natural king- 
doms does this belong ?" " To the mineral kingdom," 
was the answer. Then he drew an orange from his 
pocket and asked : " Where does this belong?" "To 
the vegetable kingdom," they replied. And pointing 
to a bird, " Where this ?" " To the animal kingdom," 
the children exclaimed. " But," added the king, 
" Where do I belong ?" Then a little girl raised her 
finger, and with a clear voice said: "To the heavenly 
kingdom." The eyes of the pious king filled with 
tears, and he took the child in his arms and kissed it. 
It is true, man does not belong to the animal kingdom, 
although his body has much in common with the ani- 
mal. He has not been developed from the animal by 
a process of evolution. On the contrary, God formed 
his body in a special manner, different from that of the 
animal creation, and breathed into him the breath of 
life, thus constituting him a living soul. And because 
he is created in the image of Him who dwells in 
heaven, he also belongs to the heavenly kingdom. The 
soul of man is distinguished from that of the animal, 
in that it is spirit, i. e., possesses the spiritual powers 
of thought and will. The reason (Yernunft), which dis- 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 99 



tinguishes man essentially from the animal, is a psychi- 
cal power, and when enlightened by the Holy Ghost, 
has power to discern spiritual things. Therefore the 
name (Vernunft from Vernehmen), i. e., to know. 

5. The omnipotence of God is not limited to the cre- 
ation, but is also manifested in the preservation and 
government of the world, which is comprehended by 
the word Providence. The creation of the world is 
not like the mechanism of a watch, which is wound up 
and then allowed to run its appointed time. But God 
works uninterruptedly in its preservation and govern- 
ment, by the same living power with which He created 
it. " Through His eternal counsel and Providence." 
The counsel of God is the plan, according to which He 
made the world. (Acts 15 : 18.) His Providence is 
His continued influence upon the same. Providence 
is, accordingly, an activity of God, but not God Him- 
self ; therefore we should not use the word Providence, 
when to His honor God's name ought to be employed. 

a) God upholds the world, i. e., God maintains the 
whole creation as long as He wills that it shall con- 
tinue, or He works by His almighty and everywhere 
present power, so that the world continues to exist. 
Ps. 148 : 6, Heb. 1 : 3. 

b) God governs the world, i. e., God directs all 
events and changes in the world, so that all things at 
last fulfil their divine purpose, or He works through 
His almighty and everywhere present power, so that 
all things in the world continue according to His will. 
Ps. 148 : 6, Isa. 46 : 10, 11, Lam. 3 : 37. 

c) As little as the forces which God constituted the 
elements in creation work of themselves, so little do the 
laws (the so-called natural laws), according to which 
the ordinary course of nature proceeds, depend upon 
themselves. As lawgiver God stands above the laws 
which He has instituted, and no natural law can limit 



100 THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 



His omnipotence or prevent Him from interrupting, 
according to His will, the ordinary course of nature, if 
at any time He wills to work otherwise. Such inter- 
ference on the part of God we call miracles, and does 
not proceed contrary to nature, but above nature. Ps. 
147 : 5. How are we to understand that God is "my 
God and my Father ?" In true faith there must 
be united with knowledge that is certain, i. e., exact, 
an assured confidence. It is not enough to believe God, 
i. e., to believe that He is and that He created the 
world. The language is : I believe in or on God, i. e., 
I have a firm confidence in Him. Therefore the creed 
also does not say, we believe, but I believe in God, 
because every one who would be saved, must exercise 
for himself this assured confidence : I believe that God 
is my God and my Father. 

1. God is in a certain sense the God and Father of 
all men, since in the beginning He created man after 
His own image, and continues to uphold all men. At 
the same time the world, which has fallen away from 
God, is lost, and only those are saved who are ingrafted 
into Christ by true faith, and who, by means of renewal 
after His image, again attain divine Sonship. " I 
believe that the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ 
— for the sake of His Son Jesus Christ — is my God 
and my Father." Eph. 1 : 5, 6, John 20: 17, Rom. 
8 : 14, 2 Cor. 6 : 16, 18. Our heathen ancestors named 
their chief Deity ( Wodan) "All-Father ;" and there is 
just as much heathen folly to-day in representing the 
living God as only such an all-world Father ; in the 
real sense of the word, He is not a World-Father, but 
in and through Christ only " our and my Father." 

2. Only the immeasureable love which God mani- 
fested toward us in Christ (John 3 : 16), can awaken 
such confidence, " that I have no doubt." The child- 
like confidence of faith excludes all doubt and uncer- 
tainty. Ps. 118 : 8, Rom. 4 : 20, 21. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 101 



3. The divine Providence and care which are spe- 
cially manifested toward the children of God, consist 
in their preservation and government. 

a) God preserves me, in that He provides for me all 
things necessary for body and soul. The needs of the 
body, especially food and clothing, we call our daily 
bread ; the need of the soul is the Word of God, the 
bread of life, and heavenly gifts. Out of proper confi- 
dence in God there arises freedom from anxiety (Phil. 
4 : 6, 1 Peter 5 : 7) and contentment (1 Tim. 6 : 6-8). 
God not only in times past wrought miracles necessary 
for the preservation of His own people (for individu- 
als, as in the case of Noah and Elijah, and for His peo- 
ple, as in the case of Israel in the desert), but His arm 
is not shortened, that He cannot help marvellously. 

b) God rules over me, in that " He will make what- 
ever evils He sends upon me in this valley of tears, 
turn out to my advantage." God orders our ways and 
directs our steps in good and evil days, to the end that 
we may achieve our soul's salvation. Prosperity is not 
to make us presumptuous, and adversity is not to cause 
us to despair, but we are so to trust as not to doubt. 
Although the children of God have obtained forgive- 
ness of sins, the world does not become a Paradise, but 
remains for them also a vale of tears, from which they 
look wistfully toward the heavenly Canaan, neither do 
they escape the evil that is in it. Evil, i. e., all distress 
and suffering in their case is not a punishment for sin, 
but a discipline, i. e., a means of correction in the hand 
of God ; therefore evil redounds to their good. The 
life of Joseph is an example. Gen. 50 : 20, Heb. 12 : 
11, Acts 14 : 22, Rom. 8 : 28. 

4. Our confidence is based upon the omnipotence of 
God, for He can do all things, and upon His faithful 
love as a Father, for He will do it. Human help is 
unreliable ; many could help, but are not willing ; 



102 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



many would help, but are not able. God is both able 
and willing. Luke 1 : 37, Ps. 103 : 13, Isa. 49 : 15, 
Jer. 31 : 20. 

Question 27. 

What dost thou mean by the providence of God t 

The almighty and everywhere present power of God ; whereby, as 
it were by his hand, he upholds and governs heaven, earth, and all 
creatures ; so that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and 
barren years, meat and driuk, health and sickness, riches and pov- 
erty, yea all things come not by cbance, but by his fatherly hand. 

L What is to be Understood by the Providence of God. 

1. The name has its origin in Gen. 22 : 14 (accord- 
ing to the original), The Lord will provide, i. e., will 
care for it. The Provideuce of God is, therefore, the 
divine provision for the present and the future. The 
Providence of God rests upon His omnipotence and 
omnipresence. Ps. 89: 13, Isa. 40: 26; 46: 10, Acts 
17 : 27, 28. Therefore the Providence of God, because 
it is the same power by which He created the world, 
may be looked upon as a continuous creation. 

2. " As it were, by His hand," means that God not 
only works from beyond the visible world through 
laws and forces of nature, but personally and inde- 
pendently, so that He is not bound to the forces and 
laws, but at all times preserves His freedom. Job 12 : 
10. The Scriptures often speak of the arm and the 
hand, the eyes and the ears of God. Not that God, 
who is a spirit, is like unto man, or that the men of 
God looked upon Him as human, but these are the 
figurative designations of the omnipotence (arm and 
hand) and the omnipresence (eyes and ears) of God. 

II. T§ What the Providence of God Extends. 

1. The Providence of God, according to which He 
preserves and governs the world, extends to all crea- 
tures, i. e., to all that God has created, and whatever is 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 103 



found in heaven and earth and hell. Ps. 139 : 8-10. 
It embraces the greatest as well as the smallest ; the 
weal and the woe of all creatures. Evil also lies within 
the Providence of God. Amos 3 : 6, Isa, 45 : 7. In 
everything the aim is God's honor and glory, His 
kingdom and the salvation of His chosen ones. 

2. We distinguish, a) a general Providence of God, 
which extends to external creation ; b) special Provi- 
dence, which extends to men ; and c) a very special 
and minute Providence, which extends to the kingdom 
and children of God. 

a) The general Providence of God. " Herbs and 
grass." The heavens — clouds — wind — sea — seasons — 
mountains — springs — grass and seedtime — wine and 
bread — sun and moon — day and night. Ps. 104 : 29, 
30. " Rain and drought." Jer. 5 : 24. " Fruitful and 
barren years." Hos. 2 : 21, 22. 

b) The special Providence of God concerns : 

1. The bodily relations of men. " Food and drink." 
Ps. 145 : 15, 16, Acts 14 : 17, Ps. 104 ; 15. " Health 
and sickness." Job 5 : 18, Ex. 15 : 26. As the sick- 
ness of individuals, so also war and pestilence and 
national calamities are in the hand of God. Jer. 14 : 
12, Ps. 91 : 6. " Riches and poverty." 1 Sam. 2 : 7. 
(Example : Job 1 : 11 ; Solomon, 1 Kings 3 : 13.) 
Prov. 22 : 2. 

2. The thoughts and devices of men. Prov. 21 : 1, 
Ps. 33 : 10, Prov. 16 : 9. 

3. The external destiny of the human race. The 
history of the world is not the judgment of the world, 
but God's judgments appear in its history. Daniel 2 : 
37-45 sets forth the grand outlines of God's ruling in 
the history of the world, and shows how God has pro- 
vided for (not merely foreseen, but predetermined) the 
government of the kingdoms of the world : 1. The 
Assyro-Babylonian (Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar), 



104 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



2. The Medo-Persiau (Darius, Ahasuerus and Cyrus), 

3. The Greco-Macedonian (Alexander), 4. The Ro- 
man Empire (Augustus), with its division into Eastern 
and Western. Upon the Roman Empire rest also the 
laws and culture of the kingdoms of the present day. 
Dan. 2 : 43, Acts 17 ; 26. 

c) The very special Providence of God relates to the 
kingdom of God, and to His children. 

1. In the history of the kingdom. From the call of 
Abraham, the progenitor, until the leading out of the 
people from Egypt ; the development of the public life 
of the people in the desert and the direction of the 
political life in Canaan ; the Egyptians, Babylonians, 
Assyrians, Persians, Greeks and Romans as scourges 
of Israel in the hand of the Lord ; then the appearance 
from heaven of the kingdom, for which Israel was the 
preparation. Dan. 2 : 44, Hag. 2:7. For the fulfil- 
ment of the prophecies, God made use of the Roman 
Empire and of its mightiest ruler, Augustus, and in 
accordance with H ; s eternal counsel and Providence, 
the extension of His kingdom is carried forward 
through the work of missions. First, it spread from 
Jerusalem throughout Palestine ; then into the Roman 
world, i. e., the region around the Mediterranean Sea, 
and then throughout the whole world. The extension 
of God's kingdom follows the plan of campaign pro- 
jected by King Immanuel. Acts 1 : 8. The Provi- 
dence of God in the preservation and government of 
His kingdom relates to its inner development (Refor- 
mation), and its protection against enemies (Jews, hea- 
then and nominal Christians — the persecutions of the 
first centuries and of the time of the Reformation), as 
well as to its final consummation, as this is depicted in 
the revelation of St. John. Rev. 11 : 15 ; 19 : 6. 

2. In the personal guidance of the children of God. 
In all their guidance we trace : Ye are blessed of the 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



105> 



Lord which made heaven and earth (Ps. 115: 15)^ 
but there shall not a hair of your head perish (Luke 
21 : 18) ; for the same Lord over all is rich unto all 
that call upon Him (Rom. 10: 12). 

The doctrine of the Providence of God does not 
exclude prayer or render it superfluous. It rather 
encourages prayer. He who said : Your heavenly 
Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things 
(Matt. 6 : 32), admonishes us in the sermon on the 
Mount : Ask, and ye shall receive. Matt. 7 : 7. God 
extends His protecting care over His own. Zech. 2 : 8, 
Ps. 34 : 7. When they are oppressed He provides for 
their deliverance. Luke 18 : 7, Job 5 : 19. Exam- 
ples of divine guidance and Providence are Abraham, 
Joseph, Moses, David, Daniel. 

3. The relation of the Providence of God to evil and 
to sin. God is not the author of evil, but He also con- 
trols the wicked ; the evil purpose belongs to man, but 
whether he shall be allowed to execute it rests in the 
hand of God. In the government of the world divine 
Providence takes into account evil as a factor, without 
the wicked thereby becoming guiltless. Matt. 18: 7. 
Examples : Pharaoh, Ex. 7 : 3 ; 9 : 35 ; Shimei, 2 
Sam. 16 : 10 ; Judas, John 17 : 12 ; the crucifixion of 
Christ, Luke 24 : 46, Acts 4 : 27, 28. 

We may say : 1. God is not the cause of evil (of sin), 
neither does He prevent it (e. g., Cain) ; 2. He controls 
it, in that He limits it (e. g., the flood, the tower of 
Babel, Sennacherib, Jer. 36: 29), and punishes it by 
its own consequences (Rom. 1 : 24, 26), and overrules 
the evil designs of the wicked to the good of His chil- 
dren (Joseph, Gen. 50: 19, 20). 

4. We are also not to stumble at God's Providence 
by the fact that the wicked are often outwardly pros- 
perous, and the righteous in distress. The question is, 
what is really good and what evil, i. e., injurious. This 

14 



106 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



can only be determined by the results, the final out- 
come. The prosperity of the wicked renders them 
more secure and firm only in their wickedness, but 
their end is eternal destruction. The sufferings of the 
righteous purify them, drive them nearer to their God, 
and their end is eternal glory. The apparent contra- 
diction in the above observation is specifically con- 
sidered and solved in Psalm 73 and Mai. 3 : 14 ; 4 : 2. 
"Yea, all things come not by chance, but by his 
fatherly hand." There is neither a "law of necessity" 
nor " chance," neither " fate" nor " destiny," not even 
an " accident." Such expressions and conceptions are 
not found in the Scriptures, but have their origin in 
paganism. The Lord's hand is everywhere present ; 
even where the event seems to come " by chance," i. e., 
seems not to be directed. " The lot is cast into the lap ; 
but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord." Prov. 
16 : 33. To the children of God everything comes 
from the hand of a faithful Father, who intends it for 
their good, even when it appears to be evil. Therefore 
the children of God, however untoward their outward 
circumstances may be, always respond to the question : 
"How are you?" with the answer : "I am well." 

Question 28. 

What advantage is it to us to know that God has created, and by 
his providence does still uphold all things f 

That we may be patient in adversity, thankful in prosperity ; and 
that in all things which may hereafter befall us, we place our firm 
trust in our faithful God and Father, that nothing shall separate us 
from his love ; since all creatures are so in his hand, that without 
his will they cannot so much as move. 

The advantage accruing from the certain knowledge 
attained by the study of creation and Providence is, 
that we are thereby confirmed and strengthened in 
faith, in assured confidence in God the Father, Al- 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



107 



mighty Creator. It may be remarked once for all that 
in the treatment of the catechism it is neither essen- 
tially nor catechetically correct to substitute the word 
" blessing" for " advantage," whenever it occurs. Es- 
sentially it is not correct, because " advantage" and 
" blessing," although related conceptions, yet differ. 
" Advantage" or gain expresses the wholesome effect of 
knowledge when appropriated, while " blessing"expresses 
the gracious activity and guidance of God, in virtue of 
which we are enabled to find advantage in the different 
relations in which He places us. Here, as well as in 
later corresponding answers of the Catechism, it is 
not said that God does this or that for us, but " that 
we are to be thus and so," that we are ourselves to draw 
this or that gain out of particular knowledge. Neither 
is such a substitution justifiable on catechetical grounds. 
Even if it were admissible to introduce a related con- 
ception for the sake of explanation and a better under- 
standing, here it is not the case, since to the child the 
expression " advantage," which occurs in its daily life 
and in outward relations, is more familiar and better 
understood than that of " blessing." But it is alto- 
gether intolerable that the catechist should tell the 
children ; " We use the word blessing for what the 
catechism here calls advantage." 

I. Patient in Adversity. 

1. The knowledge that in every adversity God's hand 
has a directing influence, is to be of this advantage to 
us, that we are to learn from it to be patient. Heb. 10 : 
36, James 1 : 2, 3. 

2. Patience, the proper demeanor in adversity (i. e., 
in every sorrow and need), in view of the knowledge 
of the Providence of God, consists : 

a) In humble submission to the will of God. Dan. 
4 : 35, 2 Sam. 15 : 25, 26 ; 16 : 10, 1 Tim. 6 : 7. 



108 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



b) The calm resignation to the will of God. Psalm 
39 : 9 ; 73 : 24, 2 Cor. 12 : 8, 9. 

3. The earthly life is for every child of God a school 
of suffering. In it there are three classes. The first 
say : This I must suffer ; " but the right hand of the 
Most High can change it all." Ps. 77 : 10. The sec- 
ond say : I will gladly suffer ; for " I reckon that the 
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be 
compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us." 
Pom. 8: 18. The third say: I rejoice in suffering; 
for I have in it a seal of my sonship in Christ. Heb. 
12: 5-9, Rom. 5 : 3, 2 Cor. 4 : 10. Compare Heb. 
12: 8. 

II. Thankful in Prosperity. 

1. The knowledge that we cannot of ourselves secure 
for ourselves pleasant relations in life, but receive 
them from God's hand, is to be of this advantage to us 
that we thank God for them. Gen. 32 : 10, 1 Thess. 
5: 18. 

2. Thankfulness, the proper disposition in prosper- 
ity (i. e., in the pleasant circumstances of life) in view 
of the knowledge of the Providence of God, consists in 
this, that we do not exalt ourselves, but acknowledge 
the undeserved favor of God, and it manifests itself in 
the praise and service of God : 

a) With the heart. Ps. 138 : 1. 

b) With the mouth. Eph. 5 : 20. 

c) With the hands. Josh. 24: 15, 24. Example: 
the grateful Samaritan. Luke 17 : 11-19. 

IE. Of Firm Trust for the Future. 

1. The knowledge that the eternal and unchangeable 
God not only cares for us in the present, but by His 
Providence has already determined and ordered all 
that is yet to meet us in the future, is to be of this 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



109 



advantage to us that with believing certainty we expect 
from Him all future good, and are thereby relieved of 
care for the future. Hence joyfulness. Ps. 91 : 9-12. 

2. To the eye of man the future is enveloped in dark- 
ness and uncertainty. On this account we are not to 
despair or be indifferent, but rather place our entire 
confidence in the Providence of God. This consists : 

a) In confiding trust. Ps. 27 : 1 ; 91 : 1, 2 ; 31 : 15, 
Jer. 17 : 7. 

b) In cheerful hope. Ps. 37 : 5, 7, Isa. 30 : 15. Ex- 
ample : Jacob's ladder. Gen. 28 : 10-15. 

3. The certainty of this confidence involves that 
whatever may befall us in the future, nothing shall 
separate us from the love of God. Rom. 8 : 35-39, 
Josh. 1 : 7. 

4. The ground of such certainty lies in this, that " all 
creatures are so in His hand, that without His will they 
cannot so much as move." Even the worst enemy of 
the children of God, satan himself, is with reference to 
them like a dog held by a chain ; he can go no further 
than the chain reaches ; he may bark and rage, but he 
cannot hurt. John 10 : 28, Rom. 8 : 31 ; 16: 20. Ex- 
amples : Daniel in the lions' den, Dan. 6, and the three 
men in the fiery furnace, Dan. 3. 

6. Faith in the Providence of God is the best " Life 
Insurance." It has nothing to do with the superstition 
of a blind destiny which one cannot escape, but on the 
contrary it is a joyful resignation to a " faithful God 
and Father." Such, however, the Almighty God is 
only to His children in Christ Jesus ; to the wicked 
He is and remains a consuming fire, from which they 
do not escape. 2 Thess. 1 : 3-10. 



110 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



OF GOD THE SON. 
A. THE PERSON OF CHRIST. (Ques. 29-36.) 
Question 29 

Why is the Son of God called Jesus, that is, a Savior? 

Because he saveth us, and delivereth us from our sins ; and like- 
wise, because we ought not to seek, neither can find salvation in any- 
other. 

The second part of the Apostle's Creed treats of God 
the Son and our redemption, or of the person and work 
of the Redeemer. The following articles refer to the 
Person of the Redeemer : And in Jesus Christ his only- 
begotten Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy 
Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary. The following refer 
to the Work of the Redeemer : Suffered under Pontius 
Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried, He descended 
into hell, the third day He rose from the dead, He as- 
cended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of 
God the Father Almighty, from thence He shall come 
to judge the quick and the dead. Including the article 
" Born of the Virgin Mary," the first five (suffered — 
descended into hell) define the state of humiliation ; 
the other four (rose — to judge the quick and the dead) 
the state of exaltation. 

I. The Name Jesus. 

1. " I believe" is to be supplied before " in Jesus 
Christ." Even as we believe in God the Father, so we 
are to believe in God the Son, because he is of the same 
essence and of like glory with the Father, and because 
it is the Father's will and command. John 14 : 1, 11 ; 
10: 30; 6: 39; 5: 23. 

2. Jesus (from the Hebrew) was a name that was 
frequently used (e. g., the two Jesus Sirach), and signi- 
fies helper, Savior, literally : " Jehovah is our helper." 



THE HEIDELBEEG CATECHISM. Ill 



But it has its fall significance only as the name of the 
Son of God. Jesus is the Greek form for Joshua. The 
son of Nun was a type of Jesus. Joshua led God's 
people out of the desert into Canaan. Jesus leads God's 
people out of misery into His kingdom and into heaven. 
He is the " captain (leader) of their salvation." Heb. 
2 : 10. Later we find the name Jesus (Col. 4: 11) as 
that of one of the assistants of the Apostle Paul. But 
the addition " which is called Justus" leads us to sup- 
pose that he received the former as a Jew and the lat- 
ter after his conversion, since no one could any longer • 
be called Jesus, except the Son of God, who alone is 
the real Jesus. 

3. Jesus is the personal name of the Savior, and at 
the same time points in the direction of His work. It 
was given Him by God the Father before His birth, 
through the angel (Matt. 1 : 21), and then at His cir- 
cumcision (Luke 2: 21) by Joseph. As "Jesus of 
Nazareth" the Savior was spoken of among the people 
(Matt. 21: 11; 26; 71, Luke 18: 37; 24: 19, John 
19: 19). Under this name He was known to angels 
(Mark 16 : 6) and devils (Mark 1 : 24). Even after 
His ascension He thus speaks of Himself. Acts 22 : 8. 

II. Jesus is the True Savior. 

1. " He saveth us and delivereth us from our sins." 
Matt. 1 : 21. Sin deprived our first parents of the 
happiness of Paradise, and is still the cause of the 
unhappiness of man. Jesus is the true Savior, because 
He was created such not by man, but by God. Ps. 130 : 
8, Luke 19 : 10, 1 Tim. 1 : 15, 1 John 4: 14. 

2. To save (the Greek word signifies " to deliver"j 
means to free the sinner in body and soul from the 
guilt, punishment and power of sin, and to bring him 
into communion with God. Gal. 3 : 13. 

3. Jesus saves us through His obedience by which 



112 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



He purchased our salvation, and through His Spirit 
by which He imparts it to us. The beginning is made 
in this life, and the consummation follows in the life to 
come. Heb. 5 : 9. 

4. Those whom He saves are His people. Ursinus 
(Ques. 20) : " The people whom Jesus saves are the 
chosen or believing ones, all of them and those alone. 
He is the Savior of these only, because in them alone is 
His purpose attained. For he has determined to gather 
in this life a people and to save them, but on the con- 
* dition that they receive His benefits and are thankful 
unto Him." 

III. Jesus is the Only and Complete Savior. 

1. " We ought not to seek, neither can find salva- 
tion in any other" (not even the least). 

a) Jesus is our only Savior. For according to the 
testimony of the Holy Ghost in the Scriptures there is 
only one Mediator, therefore also only one Savior, and 
that is Jesus. 1 Tim. 2 : 5,6, John 3 : 18, Acts 4 : 12. 

b) Also according to the testimony of the Holy Ghost 
in the Old Testament, in which salvation and redemp- 
tion are ascribed to God alone, Jesus only as the Son 
of God can be the Savior of men. Isa. 43 : 11, 25, Hos. 
13: 9. 

2. Jesus is a complete Savior, so that another need 
not be sought outside of or beyond Him. 

This is true in view of 

a) His nature. Heb. 7 : 24, 25. 

b) The number of the redeemed. 1 John 2: 2, Acts 
13: 48. 

c) The multitude of sins. 1 John 1 : 7. 

d) . The completeness of the satisfaction. Rom. 1 : 8. 

e) The time. Heb. 10 : 14. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



113 



Question 30 

Do such then believe in Jesus the only Savior, who seek their salva- 
tion and happiness of saints, of themselves, or anyivhere else f 

They do not ; for though they boast of him in words, yet in deeds 
they deny Jesus, the only deliverer and Savior ; for one of these two 
things must be true, that either Jesus is not a complete Savior, or 
that they, who by a true faith receive this Savior, must find all 
things in him necessary to their salvation. 

1. The reference here is not to heathen, Jews or 
Turks, who do not believe in Jesus, neither to such 
nominal Christians as in general do not wish to know 
anything of Jesus, but to Christians who recognize Him 
as a Savior, but not as the only, i. e., exclusive Savior. 

2. This is first of all and in general the case in the 
Roman Catholic Church. They believe in Jesus as 
the Savior, but they also seek salvation outside of Him. 

a) From the saints, especially the virgin Mary, the 
mother of the Lord, and from the angels, namely 
through their intercession. All believers who have 
been sanctified in Christ Jesus are called " saints" in 
the Scriptures, although they remain, as long as they 
abide in the flesh, poor sinners who are in need of the 
grace of God and the daily forgiveness of their sins. 
" Saints" in the Romish Church are deceased christi- 
ans whom the Pope has declared to be saints. From 
the register of these " saints" the names in the almanac 
have been taken. They are invoked and adored for 
their intercessions with God, in that prayers are 
directed to them and their favor is sought by vows 
which are made to them. It is believed that accept- 
ance with God is obtained more readily through them 
and their intercessions than by turning to Him direct. 

The holy apostles, as well as the angels, refused such 
adoration, and the virgin Mary did not stand above her 
Son (John 2: 4, Matt. 12: 46-50), but like every 
other sinful person was in need of redemption through 



114 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



Him. When the centurion Cornelius in Cesarea (Acts 
10 : 25, 26) fell down before Peter and would thus 
adore him, he said : " Stand up ; I myself also am a 
man." When the men in Lystra would have done 
sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas, they rent their clothes 
and cried among the people: "We also are men of 
like passions with you." Acts 14 : 15. And when John 
(Rev. 22 : 8) fell down before the feet of an angel to 
worship him, he said : " See thou do it not : for I am 
thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, 
and of them which keep the sayings of this book : wor- 
ship God." We read on the contrary in the gospels 
that when any one fell down at the feet of Jesus to 
worship Him, even in the days of His humiliation, He 
did not forbid it, because such adoration was befitting 
Him as the Son of God. There is only one mediator 
between God and man (1 Tim. 2:5), and one inter- 
cessor with the Father (1 John 2 : 1) — Jesus alone, 
who is God's only begotten Son and our brother. 

That the intercession of believers upon earth is of 
some help, the Scriptures declare (the Canaanitish 
woman for her daughter, Matt. 15 : 22 ; the centurion 
at Capernaum for his servant, Luke 7 : 3, 2 Cor. 1 : 10, 
11, James 5 : 15), but to invoke the dead for their 
intercession with God we have neither command nor 
example in the Scriptures. We are indeed exhorted 
by the Apostle (Eph. 6 : 18) that we are to make sup- 
plication " for all saints," i. e., believing Christians, but 
it is nowhere said that " deceased" saints pray for us. 
When in the time of the Reformation an attempt was 
made in Bohemia to bring back again by persuasion 
and by force the Protestants into the Romish Church, 
there came a Protestant tenant to the manor-house of 
his Catholic proprietor to ask for an abatement of his 
rent, because his crops had failed. He turned to the 
manager and chamberlain of the lord, but was turned 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 115 



away by both of them. When he was about to go away, 
the nobleman appeared and asked him what he was 
seeking. The man told him his need and desire, and 
the kind lord at once exempted him from his rent for 
the year. At the same time the lord wished to make 
use of the opportunity to draw the man over to his 
church. He showed him the pictures of the saints 
which hung on the wall in the vestibule and declared 
to him that these were his intercessors with God, and 
that if the tenant would turn to these, he could be 
saved. But the man shook his head and said : " I have 
just had an experience which does not encourage me 
so to do. When I sought for the intercession of your 
servants, I was turned away ; but when I applied 
directly to my proprietor, you were kind enough to 
grant my request immediately. But of the saints I do 
not even know that they would hear me, should I call 
upon them." 

b) " Of themselves." This refers to their own good 
works, such as fasting, almsgiving, pilgrimages and every 
mortification of the body, by which, according to the 
doctrine of the Romish Church, we merit heaven or 
a higher place in heaven. On the contrary, God's 
word declares (Rom. 3: 28), "Therefore we conclude 
that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the 
law." One's " rank in heaven" depends solely upon 
God's will and pleasure. Matt. 20 : 20-23. 

c) " Or anywhere else." The means of grace of the 
Romish Church include also the mass and indulgences. 
The offering of the mass by the priest is not only to 
benefit those who participate in its celebration or pay 
for an offering, but also others for whom masses 
may be read, even the dead (the so-called masses for 
departed souls), enabling them the sooner to pass from 
purgatory into heaven. According to the doctrine of 
the Romish Church the "saints" are said to have done 



116 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



more good works than they need for themselves. From 
this is said to have arisen a treasure of merits of the 
saints which the pope is to administer, and out of which 
he may distribute among his own, sufficient merit to 
cover their deficiencies and for the forgiveness of their 
sins. This comes to pass in the so-called indulgences, 
the remission of sins for the sake of the superabundant 
merits of the " saints." (Originally indulgences were 
only the remission of Church penalties.) Christ is not 
represented to us by God as a " sacrifice of the mass," 
the so-called bloodless sacrifice, but (Rom. 3 : 25) as a 
propitiation (means of redemption) througn faith in His 
blood ; and we (Rom. 3 : 24) receive the forgiveness 
of sins without any merits of our own or of anyone else, 
through God's grace, through the redemption that is in 
Christ Jesus. 

3. But even among the Protestants there are many 
who stumble at the doctrine that Jesus is the only Savior. 

a) He who believes in Jesus and refers this faith 
only to the free will of man, must also ground his sal- 
vation through Christ in its ultimate basis upon him- 
self. Over against this idea the Apostle Paul (^1 Cor. 
1 : 26-31) represents it as the goal of God's election : 
that no flesh should glory in his presence, i. e., that no 
one should attribute anything of his salvation to him- 
self. 

b) Whoever believes in Jesus and through God's 
grace is furnished unto good works (2 Tim. 3 : 17), but 
makes a merit of the same, does not give Jesus the 
honor as the only Savior. 2 Cor. 3 : 5, 6. 

c) Whoever believes in Jesus, but regards Him only 
as a wise teacher, through whose moral doctrine one 
may be refined into a pious person, and thinks that 
upon the ground of his honorable conduct he may merit 
heaven, holds in reality himself as his savior and Jesus 
only as his guide, but not as the only Savior, through 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM 



117 



whose merit alone one becomes righteous and is saved. 
Rom. 3 : 20. 

4. All such — in the Romish as well as in the Protest- 
ant Church — deny indeed Jesus the only deliverer and 
Savior, " though they boast of him in words." For to 
believe in Jesus means : to trust in him wholly and 
alone as the Savior. Jer. 2 : 13, 1 Cor. 1 : 13, Gal. 5 : 4. 

5. There are only two possibilities : " either Jesus is 
not a complete Savior," which the Scriptures deny /Col. 
1 : 19, 20), "or that they who by a true faith receive 
this Savior, must find all things in him necessary to 
their salvation." John 10: 10, Heb. 7: 25. 

Question 31 

Why is he called Christ, that is, anointed f 

Because he is ordained of God the Father, and anointed with the 
Holy Ghost to be our chief Prophet and teacher ; who has fully re- 
vealed to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our re- 
demption, and to be our only High Priest, who, by the one sacrifice 
of his body, has redeemed us, and makes continual intercession with 
the Father for us ; and also to be our eternal King, who governs us 
by his word and Spirit, and who defends and preserves us in the en- 
joyment of that salvation he has purchased for us. 

I. The Name Christ. 

1. Christ (from the Greek) and Messiah (from the 
Hebrew) have the same signification : the anointed one. 
It is the official name of the Savior, as Jesus is His per- 
sonal name. Daniel already prophesies (9 : 25, 26) of 
" Christ (Messiah, the anointed), the Prince." By this 
name He is spoken of by the angel at His birth. Luke 
2:11. As such He is first recognized by His disciples. 
John 1 : 41. As such Peter confesses Him in faith. 
Matt. 16: 16. Whether he is the Messiah, all the peo- 
ple desired to know. John 10 : 24. He acknowledges 
Himself as such with an oath before the Sanhedrim. 
Matt. 26 : 63, 64. Jesus said unto him : thou sayestit 
(i. e., I affirm I am Christ). Also after His resurrec- 



118 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



tion He testified before His disciples that He is the 
Messiah, Christ. Luke 24: 26, Acts 9: 22. 

2. Christ was appointed, i. e., fore-ordained by God 
the Father from eternity as Redeemer. Prov. 8 : 23. 
" I (Eternal Wisdom or the eternal word, John 1 : 1, 
4, 9) was set up (fore-ordained, appointed) from ever- 
lasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was." 

3. He was anointed by God the Father, i. e., endowed 
with the Holy Ghost. As the Son of God He is from 
eternity one with the Holy Ghost ; as man He was 
visibly anointed with the Holy Ghost by God the 
Father, when He entered upon His ministry, through 
the baptism of John in the Jordan. John testified and 
said : I saw the Spirit descending . . . and it abode 
upon Him. John 1 : 32, 34. Christ Himself attested 
it. Luke 4 : 18. The apostles bore witness to it. Acts 
4 : 27 ; 10 : 38, Heb. 1 : 9. 

4. In the old covenant the following were called 
anointed of God, because they were anointed with oil 
for their office : 

a) The prophets, e. g., Elisha (1 Kings 19 : 16). Ps. 
105 : 15 : Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets 
no harm. ("Anointed" signifies the same here as 
" prophet.") 

b) The high priests. Ex. 30 : 30, Lev. 8 : 12. 

c) The kings, e. g., Saul (1 Sam. 10: 1), David (1 
Sam. 16: 2, 3, 13), Solomon (1 Kings 1 : 39). 

5. This anointing was with oil, which was poured 
upon the head. The oil which was rubbed into the 
body in the orient in order to make the Hrnbs supple 
and strong for work as well as for battle, was used as an 
emblem in the anointing of the prophets, high priests 
and kings. Such an external anointing with oil was to 
be to them an assurance that they were regularly called 
to their office by God, and that God favored them with 
the needful gifts of His Spirit, of which the oil was an 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 119 



emblem, and prepared them for the administration of 
their office. Christ was not anointed with the oil, the 
emblem, but with the Holy Ghost Himself in a visible 
manner at His baptism, and not through men, but di- 
rectly by God the Father. Matt. 3 : 17. 

II. The Threefold Office of Christ. 

The threefold office to which Christ was appointed 
and anointed by God the Father, consists in the office 
of : 1. Prophet or Teacher, 2. High Priest or Mediator, 
and 3. King or Ruler. The Savior not only filled these 
offices in His work upon earth, but His activity in these 
three directions still continues. 

A. The Office of Prophet or Teacher. 

1. The prophets of the old covenant were men who 
were immediately called by God and were guided by the 
Holy Ghost, to preach repentance to the people of God, 
to reform them in worship and conduct, to reveal hidden 
and future events, and especially to prophesy of the 
future Redeemer. In attestation of their mission God 
had given them the power to perforin signs and won- 
ders. Jer. 1 : 7, 2 Peter 1 : 21. Signs and wonders as 
attestations of His divine mission for the benefit of 
Moses himself (Ex. 3 : 12), and for the benefit of the 
people (Ex. 3: 4, 5, 8). 

2. Christ is the prophet who was foretold by Moses 
(Deut. 18 : 15). As such He is designated by God the 
Father, Matt. 17 : 5 ; recognized by the people, John 
6 : 14 ; and confessed by the apostles, Acts 3 : 22. 

3. Christ is our chief prophet and teacher because He 
has fully revealed to us the secret (hidden) counsel and 
will of God (which no one could know of himself) con- 
cerning our redemption (that we can be saved only 
through Jesus Christ) — Col. 1 : 26 : " The mystery 
which hath been hid from ages and from generations, 



120 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



but now is made manifest to bis saints." On this 
account He stands above all prophets. 

a) The prophets revealed the secret counsel of God 
only in parts, as much as was given to them by God. 
Dan. 12: 9, Matt. 13: 17. But Christ hath declared 
all things. John 1 ; 18; 15: 15. 

b) All the prophets prophesied of Christ. Acts 10 : 
43. 

c) All the prophets prophesied through Christ, 1 
Peter 1 : 11. 

4. Christ performed His prophetic or teaching office : 

a) Through His teaching ; He taught the law (ser- 
mon on the mount, Matt. 5-7), preached repentance, 
and proclaimed the kingdom of God (Mark 1 : 15). 
Of. the kingdom of God He spoke mostly in parables, 
the material of which He selected from creation or the 
experiences of men to declare the nature and the mys- 
teries of the kingdom of heaven, e. g., Matt. 13 : 35, 
Luke 15. While through these the kingdom of God 
was to be revealed to His disciples, it was to be hidden 
from unbelievers. Matt. 13 : 11. 

b) Through the cleansing of the temple, at the begin- 
ning of His prophetic office, John 2 : 13-17, and at the 
end of it, Matt. 21 : 11-13. 

c) Through His prophecies concerning the destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem, the end of the world, and the future 
of the kingdom of God. Matt. 24. 

d) Through His life. John 4 : 34 ; 8 : 12, 46, 1 
Peter 2 : 21. 

e) Through His miracles, which served at the same 
time as an attestation of His divine mission. Matt. 11 : 
2-6, John 14: 11; 10: 25, 38; 3: 2, Luke 24 : 19. 
The miracles of Christ included : 1. The healing of all 
manner of sickness (all kinds of diseases and sickness 
among the people, Matt. 4 : 23 ; and those who were 
under the power of the devil, the possessed, Acts 10 : 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 121 

38) either by touch, e. </., the lepers, Matt. 8:3; or by a 
mere word, e. g., blind Bartimaeus, Mark 10 : 52 ; or at 
a distance, e. g., the daughter of the Canaanitish woman, 
Matt. 15 : 28. 2. Raising of the dead, of which three 
instances are reported in the gospels : Jairus's daughter 
who had just died, Matt. 9: 18 ; the widow's son at 
Nain, whom they were already bearing to the grave, 
Luke 7 : 12 ; Lazarus at Bethany, who had already 
lain four days in the grave, John 11 : 39. 3. Miracles 
of power. John 2: 11: He manifested forth His 
glory, i. e., His power over the creation, e. </., the chang- 
ing of water into wine at Cana (John 2: 1-10), the 
feeding of the thousands in the desert with a few loaves 
(Matt" 14 : 14-21 ; Mark 8 : 1-9), walking upon the sea 
(Matt. 14 : 25), the stilling of the tempest ('Mark 4 : 39), 
the withering of the fig tree (Matt. 21 : 19). On the 
contrary Christ never performed a miracle for mere 
show, and when solicited so to do by Satan (Matt. 4 : 
5-7) and the Pharisees (Mark 8 : 11, 12), positively 
refused to gratify them. 

/) To the end of the world, through the teaching 
office instituted by Him. Matt. 28 : 19, Luke 10 : 16, 
2 Cor. 5: 20, Eph. 4: 11. 

B. The Office of High Priest or Mediator. 

1. The function of priest under the old covenant was 
to offer sacrifices and to represent the people before God. 
The high priest's duty was to make an offering for the 
sins of all the people once a year on the great day of 
atonement, after he had made a sacrifice for his own 
sins, and with the blood of the victim to go into the holy 
of holies, which he alone was allowed to enter, in order 
to sprinkle with the blood the mercy seat (the lid of the 
ark of the covenant). Lev. 16. Further, the high 
priest carried upon his breast the Urim and Thummim 
(" light and truth") as a breastpla te or " badge of office," 
15 



122 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



made of gold and decorated with precious stones (Ex. 
28 : 15-30), on which were inscribed the names of the 
twelve tribes of Israel, that he might "bear the judg- 
ment of the children of Israel upon his heart continu- 
ally" and remember them with intercession before the 
Lord. Lastly, it was the duty of the high priest to bless 
the people with uplifted hands. Lev. 9 : 22. (Aaron's 
blessing, Num. 6: 22-27.) 

2. Christ is the High Priest of the new covenant, of 
which the high priest of the old covenant was a type. 
Heb. 3 : 1 ; 4 : 14. He fulfills His high priestly office : 

a) In that He redeemed us with the one sacrifice of 
His body. Heb. 10 : 10, Eph. 5 : 2, 1 Peter 2 : 24. 

b) In that He represents us at all times with His 
intercession before the Father. The high priestly 
prayer, John 17, Luke 23 : 34, 1 John 2 : 1, Rom. 8 : 
34, Heb. 7 : 25. 

c) In that He blesses His own. And His blessing is 
not a mere wish, but a real imparting of good. Mark 
10 : 16, Luke 24 : 50, Eph. 1 : 3. 

3. Christ as the High Priest of the new covenant is 
greater than the one of the old covenant. Let us com- 
pare the two : 

a) The high priest of the old covenant was a sinful 
man who had to make a sacrifice first for his own sins — 
Christ the holy one of God was without sin. Heb. 7 : 27. 

b) The former offered an animal Christ offered 

Himself. Heb. 13: 12. 

c) The former entered the earthly holy of holies — 
Christ the heavenly. Heb. 9 : 12. 

d) The former had to repeat the sacrifice every year 
— Christ " was once offered to bear the sins of many." 
Heb. 9 : 28. 

e) The former offered sacrifices only for the sins of 
Israel — Christ is the propitiation for the sins of the 
whole world (of all men, in all the world and in all 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



123 



times j who shall be saved through Him. 1 John 2 : 2. 

f) The former was mortal and had successors in 
office — Christ ever liveth and hath established an eter- 
nal redemption ; therefore He is our only High Priest. 
Heb. 7 : 21, 23, 24 : " Thou art a priest forever after the 
order of Melchisedec." (Ps. 110: 4). " They truly 
were many priests because they were not suffered to con- 
tinue by reason of death : but this man, because he con- 
tinueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood." (Heb. 
7 : 24). 

C. The Office of King or Ruler. 

1. A king is a ruler by the grace of God, who is set 
over a kingdom in which he governs his subjects by 
law, and which he defends against enemies by arms. 

2. Christ is our eternal King. 

a) He is appointed by God. Ps. 2 : 6. 

b) He has a kingdom, the " Kingdom of God," or 
the " Kingdom of heaven." John 18 : 36, 37. 

c) He ascended His kingly throne at His ascension 
and proclaimed His government. Matt. 28 : 18, Eph. 
1 : 20-22. 

d) His subjects are His believing children. Ps. 
110 : 3, Eph. 1 : 22. 

e) The limits of His kingdom are the ends of the 
earth. Acts 1 : 8, Ps. 93 : 1. 

/) He is at all times the "Augmenter (Mehrer des 
Peichs) of the Kingdom," which He wins not by force 
of arms, but by the word of His mouth. Isa. 60 : 5, 
Acts 2 : 47, Pev. 7 : 9, Matt. 28 ; 19, Isa. 53 : 12. 

g) The duration of His reign is eternal. Ps. 93 : 2, 
Luke 1 : 33, Pev. 11 : 15 ; 17 : 14. 

3. Christ administers His kingly office in three direc- 
tions : 

a) He governs us 1) By His word (law and gospel), 
in which He reveals His will. (The sermon on the 
mount is the law of the kingdom), Ps. 110 : 2, John 



124 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



14 : 23, Heb. 4 : 12. 2) By His spirit, through which 
He gives to us the strength to fulfill His will. Ps. 143 : 
10, John 16: 13. 

b) He protects us in the purchased redemption against 
enemies who would rob us of the same, i. e., the devil, 
the world and our own flesh. Ps. 110 : 2, Rom. 16 : 20, 
Matt. 16 : 18, John 10 : 28. 

c) He upholds us, for he constantly renews our 
strength and secures us against apostasy. Ps. 71 : 16, 
Isa. 40 : 31, Rom. 8 : 37, 1 Cor. 1 : 8. 

m. The Advantage of the Threefold Office of Christ. 

1. What Christ has done for us in the exercise of His 
threefold office may be summarized as follows : As 
prophet he revealed in His teaching office the way of 
salvation ; as High Priest by His obedience in His 
mediatorial work He secured our salvation ; as King 
since His exaltation in His kingdom He communicates 
salvation. 

2. To this corresponds what Christ accomplishes in 
us by the exercise of His threefold office. Through His 
activity in His prophetic office our understanding is 
enlightened ; by means of His high priesthood our con- 
science is set at rest ; by His kingly reign our will is 
sanctified. 

Question 32 

But ivhy art thou called a Christian f 

Because I am a member of Christ by faith, and thus am partaker 
of His anointing, that so I may confess His name, and present myself 
a living sacrifice of thankfulness to Him, and also, that with a free 
and good conscience I may fight against sin and satan in this life, 
and afterwards reign with Him eternally, over all creatures. 

I. Of the Name and State of Christians. 

1. Christ called His own, " disciples," " friends" and 
" brethren." John 13 : 35 ; 15: 14 ; 20 : 17. 

2. The first Christians called themselves " disciples," 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 125 



i. e., learners, viz., Christ's learners, or " brothers" (and 
" sisters"), or "saints," i. e., sanctified, separated from 
the world and appointed to salvation. Acts 6 : 7 ; 9 : 
30, Jas. 2 : 15, Eph. 6 : 18. 

3. At Antioch in Asia Minor the name Christians, i. 
e., adherents of Christ, was first used as a term of 
reproach, as the Reformed are sometimes called Zwing- 
lians or Calvinists. The Christians themselves, in view 
of their glorified head, Cnrist Jesus, the Lord of lords, 
and King of kings, were pleased to accept this name as 
a name of honor. Acts 11 : 26. The name Christian" 
occurs in the apostolic letters only in 1 Peter 4 : 16. 

4. " Christian," the same as the word Christ, means 
an anointed one, filled, as it were, by the Holy Ghost, 
who is also the spirit of Christ. Gal. 4: 6,2 Cor. 1 : 21, 
22, 1 John 2 : 20. 

5. Baptism alone does not yet constitute living attach- 
ment to Christ, but one becomes a partaker of His 
anointing when one is " a member of Christ by faith." 
Holy baptism is a seal of the covenant for those only 
who are engrafted into Christ by faith, and belong to 
the covenant of grace. Mark 16 : 16 : " He that be- 
lie veth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that 
believeth not shall be damned" (although he is bap- 
tized). As the living branches (John 15) upon the vine 
have the same sap coursing through them, and all the 
living members of a body the same blood, so all living 
Christians are filled by one Spirit, i. e., the Holy Ghost, 
the Spirit of Christ. Eph. 3 : 17, 1 Cor. 12 : 27, Eph. 
5: 30. 

6. Our anointing is the same as that of Christ, i. e., 
by one and the same Holy Ghost. 1 Cor. 6 : 17. We 
differ from Christ in the measure of the anointing by 
the Holy Ghost, in that He received the Spirit without 
measure (John 3 : 34), but we receive the same from 
Him (John 15 : 26), and each one in such measure as 
it pleases the Lord. (I Cor. 12 : 11, Eph. 4:7). 



126 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



7. Apparent Christians and true Christians are to 
be distinguished : 

a) Those who are only apparently Christians are such 
as have (2 Tim. 3 : 5) the form of a godly life, but 
deny the power thereof. 

b) True Christians must be in Christ, and must be 
conformed to His image in word and deed. 2 Tim. 2 : 19. 

II. Of the Threefold Office of Christians. 

Through the anointing of Christ which we receive, 
we are not merely united with His person, but are also 
called to a corresponding threefold office, for the fulfill- 
ing of which the Holy Ghost furnishes us by His gifts. 
This kingly, priestly and prophetic calling is expressed 
in 1 Peter 2 : 9 : " But ye are a chosen generation, a 
royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people ; that 
ye (as prophets) should show forth the praises of him 
who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous 
light." 

A. The Office of Teacher. 

" That so I may confess His name." 

1. To confess the name of Christ means (in the nar- 
rower sense) to acknowledge before every one that I be- 
lieve in Jesus Christ as my only Savior, and that I am 
His own in body and soul, both in life and in death. 
But this confession presupposes a correct knowledge, and 
authenticates itself in a holy walk and an effort to spread 
and defend divine truth. In the wider sense confession 
of the name of Christ includes also walking in the spirit 
of Christ. Matt. 10: 32, Bom. 10: 10, 1 Peter 2: 12, 
2 Tim. 2 : 2. 

2. The opposite of confession is denial, through the 
fear and favor of man, i. e., to deny that one knows 
Jesus Christ, and believes in Him, for the purpose of 
escaping an external disadvantage, or of securing an 
external advantage. The name of Christ is also denied 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



127 



when one confesses Him in words, but dishonors Him 
by an unholy life. Matt. 10 ; 33. Peter in the palace 
of the High Priest is an example. Matt. 26 : 69-75. 
Hearty repentance before God and man is the only way 
for one who has denied Christ to recover again from his 
fall. 

B. The Office of Priest. 

"And present myself a living sacrifice of thankful- 
ness." 

1. Christ as High Priest gave His life unto death as 
an atoning sacrifice for me ; in return for this I am to 
mortify my flesh and dedicate my whole life as a thank- 
offering to His honor. 1 Peter 2 : 5. Pom. 12 : 1 : 
" I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of 
God (for the sake of the mercy of God experienced in 
the sacrifice of Christ), that ye present (offer up) your 
bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto Goci, which 
is your reasonable service." 

2. Of the nature of such a thank-offering are : 

a) The entire surrender of the heart with all its 
desires and inclinations. Gen. 22 : 2. Under a picture 
of Calvin in which he holds a heart in his hand, are 
written these words of his : " I offer my bleeding heart 
as an offering to God." 

b) Prayer. Ps. 119 : 108, Heb. 13 : 15. 

c) Gifts of love and charity. In Phil. 4 : 18, the 
apostle Paul calls those gifts of love that were sent to 
him from Philippi " a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing 
to God." Heb. 13 : 16. 

3. Ursinus. " Our priesthood consists in this, that we 
offer unto God acceptable sacrifices of thanksgiving, 
sanctified by the offering of Christ," which includes, 
a) Ourselves, in that we mortify our old man and offer 
our members unto God as instruments of righteous- 
ness ; b) Our prayers ; c) Our alms ; d) The confes- 
sion of the Gospel (Pom. 15 : 16 : " ministering the 



128 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



gospel of God, i. e., proclaiming it to the Gentiles) ; 
e) Bearing our cross and the sufferings which God sends 
upon us (Phil. 2 : 17 : " Yea, and if I be offered upon 
the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice 
with you all" ; 2 Tim. 4 : 6 : " For I am now ready to 
be offered and the time of my departure is at hand"). 

4. The doctrine of the general priesthood of true 
Christians is based specially upon the passage in 1 Peter 
2 : 9, 10 : " Ye are a royal priesthood .... which are 
now the people of God." By this we are to understand 
that we need no human priest as mediator between us 
and God, as in the old covenant, but have free access to 
God in Christ. This teaching is contrary, on the one 
hand, to the arrangement of a priesthood (hierarchy) in 
the papacy, after the pattern of the Old Testament and 
Levitical priesthood ; and, on the other hand, it does not 
justify the practice of modern Protestantism, which 
allows all members of the church without distinction, 
even the unbelieving and unchurchly, the same right of 
co-operation in the appointment of church officers and 
the direction of church affairs. 

G. The Office of King. 

" That with a free and good conscience I may fight 
against sin and satau in this life, and afterwards reign 
with Him eternally over all creatures." 

1. The exercise of our kingly office is distinguished 
as to time and manner : a) in this life — fight, and b) 
afterwards eternally — reign. 

2. A king is one who conducts righteous wars against 
his enemies. In accordance with our kingly Christian 
calling, we fight against our bitterest enemies : 

a) Sin, which would again bring us into bondage. 
Rom. 6 : 12, 13, 1 Tim. 1 : 18, 1 Cor. 9 : 27. 

b) The world, which on account of our confession of 
Christ, bears ill-will toward us, or would draw us over 
to itself. 2 Tim. 2 : 3, 2 Cor. 6 : 7, Rom. 12 : 2. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



129 



c) The devil, who presses us hard with temptations 
of all kinds to cause us to fall ; at one time he allures 
and entices, in connection with which he puts on the 
appearance of an angel of light (2 Cor. 11 : 14), at 
another he threatens and terrifies. Eph. 6 : 11, 12, 
James 4 : 7, 1 Peter, 5 : 8, 9. 

3. A warrior who would fight with fettered hands 
and feet could not accomplish anything ; therefore we 
must also fight " with a free and good conscience," if we 
would conquer, free from the fetters of sin and guilt, i. 
e., we must have forgiveness of sin, that we may have 
strength and courage for the conflict. 

4. The conflict must be carried forward with the right 
weapons and in the right manner. 

a) The armor of a soldier of Jesus Christ is described 
in Eph. 6 : 10-18. The weapons of protection or 
defense are truth, righteousness, peace, faith and assur- 
ance of salvation. The weapon of offense or attack is 
the word of God. Believing prayer serves for protec- 
tion and attack. 

b) We are appointed to a spiritual conflict, and it 
must therefore be carried forward in a spiritual man- 
ner. 2 Cor. 10 : 3, 4, 2 Tim. 2 : 5, 1 Cor. 9 : 26. 

5. The numerous victories which by the grace of God 
are granted to true Christians in these conflicts, not- 
withstanding their own helplessness, are followed by 
final triumph : " Reign with him eternally over all 
creatures." Only he who has fought here in Christ, 
will reign with Him there, i. e., become a partaker of 
His glory. 2 Tim. 2 : 12, Eev. 3 : 21 : " To him that 
overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne 
" To this dominion belongs also the par- 
ticipation on the part of true Christians in the final 
judgment of the world of ungodly men and of fallen 
angels. 1 Cor. 6 : 2, 3. 

6. The reign with Christ will be a much higher and 



130 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



more comprehensive one than the dominion over the 
earth which God granted originally to Adam. Gen. 
1 : 28. 

Question 33. 

Why is Christ called the only begotten Son of God, since we are 
also the children of God f 

Because Christ alone is the eternal and natural Son of God ; but 
we are children adopted of God, by grace, for his sake. 

If Christ in His essence is equal with God, He is 
true God. Therefore Question 33 treats of the true 
Divinity of Jesus Christ. 

I. Why Christ is Called the Son of God. 

1. By the expression "Son of God" is indicated the 
relation of our Savior Jesus Christ to God. When we 
speak of divine things in human language, we can do 
so only by approximate comparisons with human rela- 
tions, because human speech lacks the corresponding 
terms requisite to the full expression of the divine. 
Human offspring is of the same nature as the parent 
from which it is descended, so the expression " Son of 
God" is intended to convey the idea that Jesus Christ 
is of the essence of God and, therefore, God. From 
the divine relation, however, is excluded every distinc- 
tion of time and of rank such as pertains to the rela- 
tion of an earthly son to his father. It is for us in 
reality a divine mystery, even in revelation, which we 
can neither fathom in our thinking nor express in 
words. Ps. 139 : 6. 

2. In the Scriptures Christ is spoken of as the Son 
of God. 

a) God Himself calls Him His Son. Mark 1 : 11 ; 
9:7. 

b) The devil knows and acknowledges Him as God's 
Son. Matt. 4 : 3, 6. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 131 



c) His disciples acknowledge and confess Him as 
God's Son. John 1 : 49, Matt. 16 : 16, John 11 : 27. 

d) Christ Himself speaks of Himself as the Son of 
God. John 3 : 16 ; 10 : 36, Mark 14 : 62. 

The Jews well understood what was signified by 
Jesus calling God His Father, and Himself God's Son. 
John 5 : 18. (Compare John 10: 33.) So also the 
High Priest, Caiaphas, when solemnly assured of Jesus 
that He was the Son of God. Mark 14 : 63, 64. 

3. Christ is the only begotten Son of God, i. e., He 
is begotten of God, not created, and is the only one of 
His Being, beside Him no other ; therefore, in this 
unique sense Christ alone is called the Son of God. 
"Son of God" is for Him, not, as it were, a mere title 
of eminent distinction as a man, but as the only begot- 
ten Son .of God, expresses most strictly His essential 
divine relation. This is set forth already in the 
prophecies, Ps. 2 : 7 — " The Lord hath said unto me, 
Thou art my Son ; this day have I begotten thee." 
John 1 : 14, 1 John 4 : 9, Col. 1 : 15: " Firstborn of 
every creature." (Here the word "born" stands in 
sharp contrast with " creatures," i. e., everything cre- 
ated, and " before creation" means from before the 
beginning of time, i. e., from eternity.) 

4. Christ is the eternal Son of God. 

a) He is from eternity. John 1 : 1, 2. The Son of 
God is called the Word, because the Father reveals 
Himself Through Him. (Compare verse 18.) " In 
the beginning," i. e., when the world began and before 
any created thing was in existence. Then already the 
Son of God existed. He did not come into being with 
the beginning of all things, and He was God, i. e. 9 of 
the divine essence from eternity. 1 John 1 : 1, 2, John 
14 : 6, Col. 1 : 17. 

b) He is also the Son of God to eternity. Heb. 13:8, 
Eev. 22 : 13. 



132 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



5. Christ is the " natural" Son of God, i. e., like unto 
God the Father in essence (nature) and in glory. The 
word " natural" is of the same significance as " his 
own" in Rom. 8 : 32 : " He that spared not His own 
Son." John 5: 26; 10: 30; 14: 9, 11, Col. 2: 9. 

6. The divinity of Christ is clearly proved by the 
fact that in the Scriptures there are attributed to the 
Redeemer : 

a) Divine names. Isa. 9 : 6, John 20 : 28, Acts 20 : 
28, Rev. 5 : 9, Rom. 9 : 5, 1 John 5 : 20, Rev. 1 : 8. 

Jesus Christ is spoken of by the Apostles with evi- 
dent preference as " the Lord." With the same word 
they express God's name Jehovah in the passages which 
they translated from Hebrew into Greek, as had already 
been done by the Septuagint (the seventy " interpre- 
ters," who by arrangement of King Ptolemy Philadel- 
phus translated the Old Testament from Hebrew into 
Greek at Alexandria in the third century B. C). 

The apostles also refer without further explanation 
the word " Jehovah" to Christ. 

b) Divine perfections or attributes : 

1. Omniscience. John 1 : 48 ; 2 : 25 ; 21 : 17. 2. 
Omnipresence. Matt. 28: 20; 18: 20. 3. Omnipo- 
tence. Matt. 11: 27, John 5: 17, Matt. 28: 18, Col. 
1: 16, 17. 4. Eternity. Micha 5: 2, John 8 : 58 : 
17 : 5. 5. Unchangeableness. Heb. 13 : 8. 

c) Divine works. 1. The creation and preservation 
of the world. John 1 : 3, Heb. 1 : 3. 2. Election. 
John 15 : 16, Acts 9 : 15. 3. The creation of the new 
life in man. John 6 : 47. 4. The power to forgive 
sins. Mark 2 : 7, 10. 5. The raising of the dead. 
John 5 : 21, 28, 29. 6. The holding of the final judg- 
ment. John 5 : 22, Acts 10 : 42. 

d) Divine honors. John 5: 23, Heb. 1: 3. The 
honor which belongs exclusively to God is that of wor- 
ship. This also belongs to Christ, the Son of God. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 133 



Luke 24 : 52, Acts 7 : 59, Kev. 5:8, 9, Heb. 1 : 6. 
7. When Christ represents Himself as subordinate to 
the Father, John 14 : 28, Mark 13 : 32, it is to be un- 
derstood in the sense that the Son of God at His incar- 
nation laid aside His divine glory, and for the purpose 
of accomplishing the work of redemption voluntarily 
humbled Himself, i. e., subordinated Himself and 
became subject to the Father. The dependence and 
subordination can only be regarded as apparent when 
Christ says, John 5 : 19, 20, " The Son can do nothing 
of himself, but what he seeth the Father do ... . and 
sheweth him all things that himself doeth." This has 
reference more particularly to unity of being and har- 
mony of will, as may be inferred from the intervening 
words, " for what things soever he doeth, these also 
doeth the Son likewise." So also verse 21 sets forth 
the independence of the accordant wills : " For as the 
Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them ; ever 
so the Son quickeneth whom he will." 

II. Why we are Called Children of God. 

1. All who have been baptized and heartily believe 
in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as their only Savior, 
are called children of God. John 1 : 12, Eph. 1 : 5, 
Gal. 3 : 26, 27, Rom. 8 : 16. 

2. The Savior called those that believe in Him His 
brothers and sisters, therefore children of God. Mark 
3 : 35, John 20 : 17. 

3. But there is a difference between Christ, the Son 
of God, and believers who are also the children of God, 
which consists in this, that He is the eternal and natu- 
ral Son of God, i. e., like Him in essence, while we are : 
a) By nature children of wrath, i. e., on account of sin 
we have exposed ourselves to judgment and to eternal 
death, Eph. 2 : 3, and we become the children of God 
only by regeneration (Bom. 8: 14). It is b) through 



134 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



grace, Eph. 1 : 4, and c) for Christ's sake that we are 
accepted as the children of God. We are adopted chil- 
dren, next to the son of the house. Eph. 1 : 6, 2 Cor. 
6 : 17, 18, Heb. 2 : 11. 

4. Childhood is regarded in the world as the hap- 
piest time and the pleasantest relation in life. We sing 
and say : O happy days of childhood ! The happiest 
condition upon earth is to be a child of God, through 
faith in Christ, the Son of God. For this endures 
throughout eternity. This sonship includes : 

a) The disposition of childhood. Matt. 5 : 9. 

b) The privilege of childhood to come before the 
father with all our cares. Rom. 8: 15. 

6) The discipline of childhood. Heb. 12 : 6, 7. 

d) The affection of childhood. 1 John 4 : 19. 

e) The inheritance of childhood, eternal salvation 
and glory. Rom. 8 : 17. 

Question 34. 

Wherefore called thou him Our Lord f 

Because he hath redeemed us, both soul and body, from all our 
sins, not with gold or silver, but with his precious blood, and hath 
delivered us from all the power of the devil, and thus hath made us 
his own property. 

I. From What Christ hath Redeemed us. 

To redeem signifies to liberate, to free, more particu- 
larly to ransom. The statements of the Catechism that 
He " hath redeemed us . . . and delivered us 
. . . . and thus made us his own property," are 
not tautological, but are to be understood as signifying 
that Christ hath purchased our freedom from sin, not 
in the sense that we belong to ourselves or to some one 
else, but rather that in so doing He made us His own 
property. 

1. According to the law of Moses, an impoverished 
Israelite could sell himself as a servant or slave to a 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



135 



foreign resident of Canaan. The freedom of such a one 
could be purchased before the year of jubilee (the 50th 
year), in which all slaves became free without recom- 
pense, and it was the duty of his brother or of his next 
of kin to secure his freedom when he himself had not 
earned enough to do it. Lev. 25 : 47-54. By nature 
we are all impoverished and in debt through sin. Rom. 
3 : 23. Therefore we are sold under sin and have 
come under the power of the one who is the cause of 
sin, the devil, the alien. Rom. 7 : 14 ; 6 : 17. In this 
servitude we can not earn for ourselves anything before 
God, with which to purchase our redemption. Rom. 3 : 
12. Neither can a brother in the flesh, nor a mere 
man redeem us. Ps. 49 : 7, 8. But that we may not 
forever remain in servitude, the Son of God became 
man, i. e., became our brother, in order to redeem us. 
1 Tim. 2 : 5, 6. 

3. Christ hath redeemed us from sin. 
a) From the guilt of sin. Col. 2: 14. 

' b) From the dominion of sin. Bom. 6 : 14. 

c) From the punishment of sin, which is death. 1. 
From the fear of death. Heb. 2 : 15. 2. From spirit- 
ual death. 1 John 3 : 14. 3. From eternal death. John 
8 : 51, Bom. 5 : 9. 

4. Christ hath redeemed us and delivered us from 
the power of the devil. Through sin we have not 
become the property of the devil, we have only come 
under his power. God remains the real Lord over all 
men. Therefore Christ paid the ransom, not to the 
devil, but to God (Eph. 5:2), to satisfy His righteous- 
ness, i. e., His rightful claims. At the same time He 
was surrendered to the power, but not to the ownership 
of the devil, and therefore could not be holden by the 
same. Luke 22 : 53, John 14 : 30, Heb. 2 : 14. 



136 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



II. The Means by Which Christ hath Redeemed us. 

1. In the redemption of slaves the ransom consisted 
of silver or gold, and only outward servitude and tem- 
poral freedom were involved therein. But deliverance 
from sin implies that both body and soul are set free 
and redeemed for eternity, which can not be done with 
perishable silver or gold. The value of a single human 
soul is so great that all the silver and gold of the whole 
world can not redeem it. Matt. 16 : 26. 

2. According to the decree of the love and mercy of 
God, only the blood of His Son, i. e., the complete sur- 
render of His life, even to a violent and bloody death, 
was to constitute and could be accepted as the ransom. 
The blood of Christ is called " precious," because it has 
sufficient worth to redeem all the chosen ones at all 
times and in all the world, and to bring them into the 
freedom of the children of God. Matt. 20 : 28 ; 26 : 
28, Eph. 1 : 7, 1 Peter 1 : 18, 19, Kev. 5 : 9. 

III. The Purpose of our Redemption. 

1. All those whom Christ hath redeemed and pur- 
chased with His precious blood, have thereby become 
His property, and He is their Lord. Tit. 2 : 14, Acts 
2: 36. 

2. True believers are therefore Christ's property, and 
only when we have been born again by the Holy 
Ghost can we call Him " our Lord." Eph. 1 : 13, 14, 

1 Cor. 12 : 3. 

3. This ownership of Christ in us we are to manifest : 

a) By honoring Him in body and soul. 1 Cor. 6 ; 20. 

b) By joyfully obeying Him. Luke 1 : 74, 75, Matt. 
7 : 21. 

c) By humbly submitting to His will. 1 Peter 5 : 6, 

2 Samuel 15 ; 26. 

d) By serving Him only. 1 Cor. 7 : 23, 2 Peter 2 ; 
1, Jude, verse 4. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 137 



4. The heathen are also the inheritance of Christ. 
Ps. 82 : 8, John 11 : 51, 52, Eev. 7 : 9, 10. 

5. Christ is Lord over all, even over the unbelieving 
and over His enemies, although they do not acknow- 
ledge Him as Lord and are not willing to subject them- 
selves to Him. Luke 19: 14, 1 Cor. 15 : 25, Phil. 
2: 10. 

THE TWOFOLD STATE OF CHRIST. (Ques. 35-52.) 

1. Upon the basis of the Scriptural truth expressed 
in Phil. 2 : 6-11, we speak of a twofold state of Christ, 
His state of humiliation and His state of exaltation. It 
was necessary that Christ should humble Himself to 
secure our salvation, and that He should be exalted to 
impart to us His purchased redemption. Luke 24 : 26, 
Eom. 4 : 25, Heb. 2 : 7-10. 

2. The state of Christ's humiliation is characterized 
by five stages : 1. His incarnation, 2. His suffering, 3. 
His death, 4. His burial, 5. His descent into hell. The 
state of Christ's exaltation embraces four stages : 1. His 
resurrection, 2. His ascension into heaven, 3. His 
sitting at the right hand of God, 4. His coming again 
to judgment. 

3. This twofold state of Christ was already proph- 
esied in the Old Testament. Isa. 53. 

a) He grew up as a tender plant out of a dry ground 
— He hath no form nor comeliness — He was despised 
and rejected of men ; a man of sorrows, and acquainted 
with grief — He was oppressed, afflicted, wounded, 
bruised, smitten of God. b) But then He shall pro- 
long His days— the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper 
in His hands — He shall justify many — He shall divide 
the spoil with the strong. 

4. In the New Testament the twofold state of Christ 
is set forth by the Apostle Paul in Phil. 2 : 6-11. a) 
Who, being in the form of God, counted it not a prize 

16 



138 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



to be on an equality with God (John 17 : 5) — taking 
the form of a servant — being made in the likeness of 
men — humbled Himself — becoming obedient even unto 
death, yea, the death of the cross, b) Wherefore also 
God highly exalted Him — gave unto Him the name 
which is above every name — that in the name of Jesus 
every knee should bow — and every tongue should con- 
fess that Jesus Christ is Lord. 

Question 35 

What is the meaning of these words, "he was conceived by the Holy 
Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary t" 

That God's eternal Son, who is, and continueth true and eternal 
God, took upon him the very nature of man, of the flesh and blood 
of the Virgin Mary, by the operation of the Holy Ghost, that he 
might also be the true seed of David, like unto his brethren in all 
things, sin excepted. 

I. How the Son of God Became Man. 

1. The eternal Son of God (refer to Question 33) is 
and also remains in and after His incarnation true and 
eternal God ; for eternity belongs to His divine nature 
and cannot be laid aside. Gal. 4 : 4, John 1 : 14, Rom. 
9 : 5, 1 John 5 : 20, 1 Tim. 3 : 16, Col. 2 : 9, Heb. 
1: 10-12. 

2. When a prince voluntarily forsakes his father's 
abode and travels to a distant country, and there assumes 
the garb of a servant and performs menial service, he 
nevertheless remains what he is, the son of the king, 
and retains his right to the throne. So Christ left 
heaven and laid aside the glory of His Father (His 
divine state), and took the form of a servant in His 
incarnation, without ceasing to be the Son of God and 
without surrendering His divine nature. He counted 
it not a prize to be on an equality with God, i. e., it 
was not something that He would grasp after or sel- 
fishly hold on to, for it was His by right. Upon His 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 139 



return to heaven, at His ascension, the King's Son 
ascended the royal throne " at the right hand of the 
Majesty on high," as the Son of God, but at the same 
time also as the Son of man, as there was nothing of 
which to be ashamed in His lowly condition and in 
His service upon earth. 

3. The eternal Son of God became man. 

a) When the time was fulfilled, Gal. 4:4,^. e., when 
the time had come which had been indicated in general 
outlines by the prophecies in the Old Testament. 

1, Gen. 49 : 10. The sceptre (leadership) shall not 
depart from Judah until Shiloh come (literally, he to 
whom it belongs, i. e., until the one who, being descended 
from the tribe of Judah, will become the real and per- 
manent leader). That this prophecy has been fulfilled 
in Christ, is indicated in Rev. 5 : 5, where He is called 
the " lion (compare Gen. 49 : 9) of the tribe of Judah." 
When Christ was born, the time had come when the 
leadership in Israel had entirely departed from Judah. 
The Romans had become the sovereigns of the land. 
The Jewish King Herod was an Idumean, a descend- 
ant of Edom, i. e., of Esau, and the politico-social 
community of Israel had forever come to an end. 

2, Daniel 9 : 24, 25. The seventy weeks of which 
the angel Gabriel spake to Daniel, are not to be under- 
stood as weeks of seven days, but as prophetic weeks, 
i. e., as periods of seven years each, and the entire 
period embraced 70 x 7=490 years. Accepting now 
the command that went forth as the Edict of King 
Artaxerxes (Artaxerxes Longimanus), in consequence 
of which the ruined city of Jerusalem was rebuilt "in 
troublous times," the departure of Ezra with the Jews 
falls in the year 457 B. C, Ez. 7 : 8, 9, and the end of 
the seventy prophetic weeks in the year 33 A. D., the 
year in which by the death of Christ there is made " an 
end of sins and reconciliation for iniquity, and everlast- 



140 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



ing righteousness" is brought in. The same angel Ga- 
briel, who announced to Daniel the time of the coining 
redemption, also announced to Mary when the time was 
to be fulfilled for the birth of the Redeemer. Luke 
1 : 26. Christ Himself (Matt. 24 : 15) refers to this 
prophecy of Daniel (9 : 26, 27), and points to its com- 
plete fulfillment in the future. 

3, Haggai 2 : 7, 8. The movement of the nations, 
spoken of by the prophet, we see fulfilled in the Roman 
Empire, which at the time of the birth of Christ 
embraced all the nations of the then known "world," 
which, by colonization, became completely intermin- 
gled. An agitation from within passed through the 
Empire, because the people were tired of their old 
pagan faith, so that even the priests themselves ridi- 
culed it, and loured for new ideals. An outer move- 
ment was at least partially brought about through the 
command of Caesar Augustus, that " all the world 
should be enrolled." 

4, Mai. 3 : 1 ; 4 : 5 : Behold, I will send my mes- 
senger and the Lord shall suddenly come to 

his temple. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet, 
before the great and terrible day of the Lord come 
(the " day" signifies that the coming of Christ as 
Redeemer and His return as Juds;e are viewed in the 
]3rophetic perspective as occurring at the same time). 
Christ Himself says of John the Baptist : This is Eli- 
jah, which is to come. Matt. 11 : 14, Matt. 17 : 12 : 
I say unto you, that Elijah is come already. Then the 
disciples understood that He had spoken to them of 
John the Baptist. 

5, Christ Himself said, in view of the prophecies of 
the Old Testament and of the " signs of the times," at 
His public appearance : The time is fulfilled, and the 
Kingdom of God is at hand. Mark 1 : 15, Matt. 16 ; 
3 : Ye cannot discern the signs of the times. 

b) The eternal Son of God became man, in that He 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 141 



took upon Himself the very nature of man, of the flesh 
and blood of the Virgin Mary. His birth from a vir- 
gin was prophesied. Isa. 7 : 14. This prophecy was 
fulfilled according to the word of the angel Gabriel. 
Luke 1 : 31. The virgin's name was Mary. Luke 1 : 
27. She brought forth her first-born son. Luke 2 : 7. 
Because Christ was born of a woman, the prophecy 
given in Paradise (Gen. 3 : 15) was fulfilled. Gal 4 : 
4 : Born of a woman. 

c) Conceived by the Holy Ghost. 

1, Mary herself was not sinless, but she was sancti- 
fied in faith. Luke 1 : 45. Because the Redeemer 
Himself must be sinless, He must also be born without 
sin. Therefore He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, 
i. e., He became man through the operation of the 
Holy Ghost. In this connection both expressions ot 
the Apostle Paul are very important. Acts 13 : 23 : 
Of this man's seed hath God according to promise 
brought unto Israel a Savior, Jesus. Rom. 1:3: Who 
was born of the seed of David according to the flesh. 
The incarnation of the Son of God was at the same 
time a work of the creative power of the Triune God, 
and therefore He also became the second Adam. Luke 
1 : 35 : The Holy Ghost shall come upon Thee .... 
wherefore also that which is to be born shall be called 
holy, the Son of God. At the time of the salutation 
of the angel, Mary was betrothed to Joseph, and before 
they came together, she was found with child of the 
Holy Ghost. Matt. 1 : 18. Joseph was minded to put 
her away privily, but the angel commanded him in a 
dream, saying, Fear not to take unto thee Mary thy 
wife : for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy 
Ghost. Matt. 1 : 20. 

2, Joseph is indeed called the " father" of Jesus, e. g., 
by Mary, Luke 2 : 48. In verse 41 His parents are 
spoken of; in verse 51 it is said that He was subject 



142 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



unto them. This means that during the childhood of 
Jesus, Joseph exercised over Him parental authority, 
according to the will of God, and that Jesus yielded to 
him obedience. By the Jews Jesus was supposed to be 
a son of Joseph. Luke 3 : 23, John 6 : 42 : Is not 
this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother 
we know ? This was in accordance with the divine 
counsel and Providence that Jesus might not appear as 
illegitimate before the people, which would have ren- 
dered His activity among them impossible. 

3, God had not created a man, Jesus, with whom 
the Son of God would unite Himself, but the eternal 
Son of God entered into humanity, in that He took 
upon Himself the very nature of man. How is this 
possible? So asked the virgin, and she received from 
the angel the answer, With God nothing is impossible. 
Luke 1 : 37. The birth, the incarnation of the Son of 
God was miraculous, it is the miracle of all miracles, 
and remains (1 Tim. 3 : 16) without controversy the 
great mystery, God ... in the flesh, before which 
we bow in reverence and adoration. In the instruction 
of youth it is sufficient to say that the Virgin Mary 
was the mother of Jesus and that Christ had no father 
on earth ; that God alone was His father, and that 
Josepn, the husband of Mary, was His foster-father. 

d) The Son of God took upon Himself the very 
nature of man. 

He did not assume human form for the sake of mere 
appearance, or become visible merely as did the angels 
when they appeared unto men ; but He became, in 
body and soul, a real man. Further, He is called not 
" a Son of man," but " the Son of man," because as the 
Son of God He assumed humanity, that as very God 
and very man He might be our true and only Media- 
tor. Heb. 2: 14; 10: 5, 1 John 1 : 1, 2, Luke 24 : 
39. The importance of the doctrine of the true human- 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 143 



ity of Christ appears from 1 John 4 : 1-3, according to 
which they are " false prophets," who deny that Jesus 
Christ " is come in the flesh," i. e., that the eternal Son 
of God took upon Himself the very nature of man. 
This is the spirit of antichrist. 1 Tim. 2 : 5. 

II. Why the Son of God Became Man. 

A) " That He might also be the true seed of David." 

1. God had promised that the Redeemer should be a 
descendant of Abraham (Gen. 22 : 18), of the tribe of 
Judah (Gen. 49 : 10) and of the family of David. 2 
Sam. 7: 12, Isa. 9 : 6, 7 ; 11 : 1, 10, Jer. 23: 5, 6; 
33 : 15, 16. Of the two genealogies of Christ, that of 
Luke (3 : 23-38) reaches back to Adam, to establish 
His claim as the " Son of man." On the other hand, 
that of Matthew begins with David, to present Him as 
David's Son. Matt. 1 : 1. The Apostles lay great 
stress upon Christ's descent from David. Peter, Acts * 
2 : 30, Paul, 13 : 23, Rom. 1 : 3. Referring to Isa. 
11 : 1, 10, Christ is designated (Rev. 5 : 5) by one of 
the elders before the throne and by Himself (Rev. 22 : 
16) the Root of David. 

2. When Christ was born, the people were animated 
by an expectation of the promised Messiah (Luke 2 : 
38), which at the time of His appearance was intensi- 
fied through the preaching of the Baptist who went 
before Him. To the people the promise and designa- 
tion of the Redeemer as the " Son of David" was the 
most familiar. Matt. 12 : 23 ; 21 : 9. 

3. Both Joseph and Mary belonged by direct descent 
to the family of David. Therefore they must go to 
Bethlehem, their native city, for enrollment. Luke 2 : 
3-5. It would not have been necessary for Mary, the 
betrothed of Joseph, to be enrolled, if she had not been 
a descendant of David, and therefore a representative 
of one branch of his family. 



144 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



B) " Like unto his brethren (i. e., like unto men) in 
all things." Heb. 2: 17, 18, Phil. 2: 7. 

1. He was born like any other child. Luke 2 : 7. 

2. As a child He grew in body and soul after the 
manner of men. Luke 2 : 40, 46, 52. The man Jesus 
had to " learn the Scriptures," and He taught what 
was given Him of the Father. Heb. 5:8: Though he 
were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things 
which he suffered. Menken (4, 261) : " He walked by 
faith, and not by sight. His faith began with the first 
instruction which He received from His mother Mary. 
He held it firmly, even in the most distressing, distract- 
ing circumstances of life, and perfected it under deep- 
est darkness, when exposed to all the subtle assaults of 
the devil, being forsaken by God and man." 

3. It was possible for Him to be tempted, and it was 
necessary for Him to struggle against the assaults of 
evil. Matt. 4: 1, Heb. 2: 18. 

4. He had human wants. He ate and drank and 
slept. Matt. 11 : 19; 8: 24. Even after His resurrec- 
tion He ate and drank. Acts 10 : 41. 

5. He felt human weakness. He hungered and 
thirsted and was weary. Matt. 4 : 2 ; 21 : 18, John 19 : 
28; 4: 6. 

6. He had human sensibilities. He rejoiced, was 
troubled and sorrowful, groaned and wept. Luke 10 : 
21 ; 12 : 50, Matt. 26 : 37, 38, John 11 : 33, 35, Luke 
19 : 41, Heb. 5:7. We read in the Scriptures of three 
occasions when Christ wept, but nowhere that He 
laughed. He was, however, cheerful. 

7. He was mortal. Matt. 27 : 50, John 19 : 33, 34. 

C) "Sin excepted." 

1. It was necessary for the Son of God to become 
man that He might bear the punishment of sin for the 
redemption of sinners, and by His sufferings and death 
make satisfaction for the sins of the world. He, there- 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 145 



fore, took upon Himself our flesh and blood, with all 
its weaknesses through sin. Rom. 8 : 3, 2 Cor. 5 : 21. 

2. Even though the Son of God took upon Himself 
human nature in a condition of infirmity through sin, 
He did not thereby become a partaker of sin itself. 
He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and, therefore, 
was born without hereditary taint or guilt. And 
though, as true man, it was possible for Him to be 
tempted, He triumphed over temptation and is, there- 
fore, truly without sin. Heb. 7 : 26 ; 4 : 15, 1 John 
3: 5. 

3. But upon Him, as our Surety and Mediator, 
though in Him there dwelt neither sin nor guilt, God 
laid all our debt of sin ; to Him He imputed it. And 
Jesus bore the same, feeling in body and soul the 
weight of the heavy burden, from the time of His con- 
ception until His death upon the cross. Isa. 53, John 
1, Mark 14 : 34, Luke 22 : 44, Matt. 27 : 46, Heb. 
5: 7. 

III. The Two Natures in Christ. 

1. In Christ, the incarnate Son of God, we distin- 
guish, in accordance with His deity and His humanity, 
a divine and a human nature, which in Him however 
united in one person. They are distinct and yet not 
divided, unmixed and yet not separated. 

2. Zwingli : " The Son of God, very God, so assumed 
human natuie that the divine was not lost or trans- 
formed into the human, but both are in Him truly, 
really and essentially, and in such a way that His 
human nature lost nothing, and He is no less truly, 
really and essentially God. But the human nature has 
not so completely passed over into the divine nature, 
that He is not truly, really and essentially man, with 
the exception of the tendency to sin. And in so far as 
He is God, His union with the Father and the Holy 
Ghost is such that He nevertheless possesses every- 



146 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



thing that is essential to and characteristic of human 
nature, and has lost nothing through His union with 
the divine nature, except that He is without sin. 
Therefore the characteristics of both natures are easily 
traceable in all His words and acts, so that a pious 
mind readily recognizes what is to be attributed to the 
one or to the other nature, even though it is true that 
everything pertains to the one Christ." 

3. The Belgic Confession of Faith, Article 19, says : 
" But these two natures are so united and bound 
together in one person, that they were not separated 
even by His death. That which Christ, when dying, 
commended into the hands of His Father, was in reality 
His human spirit, which departed from His body. 
Luke 23 : 46, Matt. 27 : 50. Meanwhile the divine 
nature remained united with the human, even in the 
grave. So that the Godhead did not cease to be in 
Him any more than it did T\>hen He was an infant, 
though for a short time it did not so clearly manifest 
itself. Wherefore we confess that He is very God and 
very man. Very God that He might by His power 
conquer death, and very man that He might according 
to the infirmity of His flesh suffer death for us." 

4. Olevianus : "A personal union is such a connec- 
tion of two unlike natures, that the two constitute one 
person. Thus body and soul in man are unlike ; for 
the body can be seen and laid hold of, but not the soul ; 
the body may be dismembered and will die, but not the 
soul, and yet they are united in such a manner that 
both body and soul belong to the being of a man. As 
body and soul constitute one man, so God and man 
unite in one Christ, as the Christian Church has always 
rightly confessed. From this comparison it will be 
more readily understood what the Word of God teaches 
concerning the personal union of the two natures in 
Christ, viz., that it is such a connection of two unlike 



THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 147 



natures, of the divine and the human in Christ, that 
although the one, the divine, created heaven and earth, 
and is without beginning, the other, the human, is and 
remains created, and had a beginning. The one is 
almighty, for it is true God ; the other is not. For the 
creature, the humanity of Christ, is not the Creator, 
and there are not two that are almighty, but one, 
although there are two natures. The one, the divine, 
is infinite ; it can not be limited or circumscribed in 
space. The other is finite, and is composed of definite 
members, of head, arms, chest, limbs, feet, all of which 
in their several places differ from each other. Although 
I say that both these natures have their special sphere 
and characteristics, yet are they so united that both the 
one as well as the other belong to the being and sub- 
stance of the one person, Christ. 

" With Paul and Peter, however, God is not person- 
ally united ; for although the divine dwells in them, 
it is not so united with them that it belongs to the 
being of Peter and of Paul, that one could say : God and 
Peter constitute one person, or this man Peter is God, 
as is true of Christ. This description of the personal 
union is based upon the facts involved in the concep- 
tion of Christ. For then the personal union was con- 
summated, and after that no other personal union of 
the two natures in Christ was developed." 

5. Ursinus, who drew up the Confession of the The- 
ological Professors and Pastors of Heidelberg, treats 
the doctrine in that paper as follows : " The word man 
signifies a person in whom dwells human nature, 
whether he have in addition to this another nature, as 
is the case with the man Christ Jesus, who was also 
divine, or this alone, as is the case with other men. 
The word humanity or human nature, however, does 
not embrace two or more natures, but only this one, 
consisting of a human body and soul. So also the word 



148 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



God signifies a person who is God, i. e., in whom the 
divine nature resides, whether He be at the same time 
different, as is the case with the second person of the 
Godhead, the eternal Son, who is also man, or be God 
alone, as are the Father and the Holy Ghost. The 
word Deity (Gottheit), however, signifies and embraces 
only the divine nature and being. We can, therefore, 
rightly and truthfully say : God is man, God suffered 
and died for us, arose from the dead and ascended into 
heaven. But it would not be true to say : the Deity 
(Gottheit) is human, suffered, died, rose again and 
ascended into heaven. It is also true that the man 
Christ Jesus is God, but it is not true that the human- 
ity of Christ is deified. And so likewise it is true that 
the man Christ is almighty, omniscient, everywhere 
present and worketh all things that the Deity worketh. 
But that the humanity of Christ is almighty, omni- 
scient, and everywhere present and worketh all things 
that the Deity worketh, is as far from the truth as it is 
to say that the humanity is divine." 

Question! 36. 

What profit dost thou receive by Christ's holy conception and nativ- 

ityf 

That he is our mediator, and with his innocence and perfect holi- 
ness covers, in the sight of God, my sins, wherein I was conceived 
and brought forth. 

1. Olevianus mentions a threefold benefit of the 
/'holy conception and birth of Christ." 

" First, that He is our only Mediator in every thing 
that devolves upon us in relation to God, the one who 
partakes not only of one, but of both natures, viz., the 
human and the divine. Gal. 3 : 20, 1 Tim. 2 : 5. 

" Secondly, that He is a Mediator in whom the divine 
love, which surpasses heaven and earth, first exists, and 
in whose heart it abides personally, a heart which cher- 
ishes true brotherly love and fidelity toward us. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 149 



" Thirdly, that He is also a Mediator, whose body and 
soul were completely sanctified in their conception. 
First, that He might become a pure and holy offering, 
in which the penalty of our sinful conception, with all 
the fruits thereof, is forever paid, and we, therefore, 
are declared free from its guilt ; not that there is in us 
no longer any original sin, but that it is no longer 
imputed to us. Secondly, that by the power of His 
perfect holiness He gradually sanctifies our sinful body 
and soul, until at last we are entirely delivered from 
the inborn malady ; that He will graciously renew our 
nature after the image of God, with the same Holy 
Ghost by which the eternal Word, viz., the Son, sanc- 
tified His body and soul in the womb. Heb. 2: 11 ; 
7: 26." 

2. Ursinus : " The benefit of the holy conception and 
birth of Christ is two-fold : 

" First, the confirmation of the faith that He is the 
Mediator ; secondly, the comfort that through this 
Mediator we become righteous before God. This con- 
clusion follows from the fact that there can be no 
Mediator between God and man who is not himself 
man, who is not righteous, who is not one with the 
Eternal Word (John 1), i. e., one who is truly and 
really God and man and able to preserve for us the 
purchased redemption. Heb. 7 : 26." 

B. THE WORK OF CHRIST. (Ques. 37-52.) 
Question 37 

Vfhat dost thou understand by the words " he suffered ?" 

That he, all the time he lived on earth, but especially at the end 
of his life, sustained in body and soul, the wrath of God against the 
sins of all mankind; that so by his passion, as the only propitiatory 
sacrifice, he might redeem our body and soul from everlasting dam- 
nation ; and obtain for us the favor of God, righteousness, and eter- 
nal life. 



150 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



t The Suffering of Christ. 

1. To the redemptive work of Christ belong His life, 
suffering and death. This is comprehended in the 
word suffering. For 1) it was the object of His incar- 
nation to redeem us by His suffering and death, and 2) 
His whole life was a passion, commencing with His 
birth and ending with His death. 

2. Christ suffered : 

a) In bodv. Ps. 22 : 14-16. 

b) In souL Matt. 26 : 38. 

c) All the time He lived on earth. Isa. 53 : 3. 

d) Especially (i. e., in an especially high degree) at 
the end of His life. Matt. 27 : 46, 50. 

3. This is established in detail in the history of 
Christ's life and suffering. 

A) All The Time He Lived on Earth. 

a) In body : 1) The birth in the inn, Luke 2:7; 
2) The flight to Egypt (the hardships of the journey) 
Matt. 2 : 14 ; 3) Hunger, thirst and fatigue, Matt. 4 : 
2, John 4 : 6, 7 ; 4) Poverty, Luke 9 : 58. 

b) In soul : 1) The temptation by the devil, Matt. 4 : 
1 ; 2) The hatred of His enemies, Heb. 12 : 3 ; He 
was reviled as a glutton and a wine-bibber, Matt. 11 : 
19, a blasphemer, Matt. 9 : 3, a child of the devil, 
Matt. 12 : 24 ; He was rejected at Nazareth, his native 
city, Luke 4 : 29 ; He was persecuted, Matt. 21 ; 46 : 
They threatened to stone Him, John 8: 59; 3) The 
inconstancy of the people, John 6 : 14 ; 7 : 20 ; 4) 
The weak faith of His disciples, Matt. 8 : 26, Mark 8 : 
33 ; 5) Sorrow over the power of death among men, 
John 11 : 33, 35 ; 6) Anxiety in view of His own 
death, Luke 12 : 50. 

B) At the Ekd of His Life. 

a) In body : 1) Drops of bloody sweat, Luke 22 : 
44 ; 2) He is bound, John 18 : 12 ; 3) They spit in 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 151 



His face and buffet Him, Matt. 26: 67; 4) He is 
scourged and crowned with thorns, Matt. 27 : 26, 29 ; 
5) He must bear His own cross, John 19 : 17 ; 6) He 
is nailed to the cross, John 19 : 18 ; 20 : 25, 27 ; 7) 
He suffers burning thirst, John 19 : 28 ; 8) He dies a 
painful death, Matt. 27 : 50. 

b) In soul : 1) His agony in Gethsemane, Matt. 26 : 
37, Luke 22 : 44 ; 2) The betrayal by Judas, Luke 
22: 48; 3) Forsaken by all the' disciples, Mark 14: 
50 ; 4) Denied by Peter, Luke 22 : 61 ; 5) The false 
testimony against Him, Matt. 26 : 60 ; 6) The mockery 
of the soldiers, Matt. 27 : 29 ; 7) The cry of the peo- 
ple, crucify Him ! Mark 15 : 14 ; 8) The railing of 
the multitude at the cross, Mark 15 : 29, 30 ; 9) For- 
saken by God, Matt. 27 : 46. 

In catechetical instruction it is not advisable to intro- 
duce in detail and to comment upon the entire history 
of Christ's passion, but the instruction should be lim- 
ited to the points above introduced, taking it for 
granted that catechumens are familiar with biblical 
history. 

II. The Cause of Christ's Suffering. 

1. Not His own sin or guilt was the cause of 
Christ's suffering (compare Ques. 10 : 1, 2), but " the 
wrath of God against the sins of all mankind," i. e., the 
judicial punishment of death and condemnation which 
God hath decreed against humanity (" the human 
race" or human nature, in which sin propagates itself) 
on account of sin. Isa. 53 : 4-6. Verse 11 : He shall 
bear their iniquities (i. e., He atones for sin by endur- 
ing the penalty, and, therefore, satisfies, in the place of 
man, God's violated law). That this prophecy has 
been fulfilled in Christ, the Apostle Peter attests, 1 
Peter 2 : 24 : Who his own self bare our sins in his 
own body upon the tree (literally, has carried them in 
His own body upon the wood, i. e., the cross). 



152 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



2. " The sins of all mankind." John 1 : 29, 1 John 
2 : 2. 

3. That Christ was to bear the sins of the world 
through His sufferings, rests upon the counsel and will 
of God. Acts 2 : 23, 1 Cor. 15 : 3, Isa. 53. 

III. The Purpose of Christ's Suffering. 

1. The purpose of Christ's suffering was our redemp- 
tion from sin and its punishment, and for the attain- 
ment of this end the death of Christ, including His 
suffering, was a sacrificial death. " That so by his 
passion, as the only propitiatory sacrifice, he might 
redeem our body and soul from everlasting damnation/' 
i. e.> set free, redeem, liberate. Isa. 53 : 10, Rom. 5 : 
10, 1 Cor. 5 : 7. 

2. The sacrificial altar was the cross upon Calvary. 
The sacrifice of Christ was a burnt-offering. He was 
offered " upon the tree." The fire which consumed 
Him was, besides the glowing heat of the sun to which 
He was exposed during the day, and the burning of 
His wounds which caused His death, the fire of God's 
wrath against the sins of all mankind which rested 
upon Him. 

3. Christ's sacrifice was voluntary. John 10 : 18, 
Matt. 26 : 53, Eph. 5 : 2. By His voluntary accept- 
ance of a sacrificial death, Christ's sacrifice far exceeds 
all the typical sacrifices of the old covenant. 

4. The sacrifice of Christ was made for us, i. e., not 
only for our benefit, but in our stead. It is, therefore, 
also a vicarious sacrifice. Matt. 20 : 28, 2 Cor. 5 : 14, 
1 Tim. 2 : 6. 

5. Christ suffered only in His human nature, in 
which His divine nature sustained Him. 1 Peter 2 : 
24 : In His own body . . . ; Heb. 10 : 10 : Through 
the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 

6. The sacrifice of Christ was made but once, and it 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 153 



avails for all times, and its effects reach unto eternity. 
Heb. 9:12; 7 : 25 : Wherefore He is able also to 
save them to the uttermost (literally : perfectly) that 
come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make 
intercession for them.* 

Christ's sacrifice avails also for believers under the 
old covenant who lived before Him, since they received 
the forgiveness of sins, not through the animal sacri- 
fices (Heb. 10: 4), which were only types of the one 
sacrifice of Christ upon the cross, but through faith in 
the promised redemption by Christ Jesus. Rom. 3 : 
25, 26. 

IV. The Benefits of Christ's Suffering. 

This benefit is two-fold : 1) That Christ through 
His suffering redeemed our body and soul from ever- 
lasting damnation, and 2) obtained for us the favor of 
God, righteousness and eternal life. 

He has not only averted the incalculable harm that 
was threatening us, but has also secured for us the 
greatest benefit. 

1, He has redeemed us, body and soul, from ever- 
lasting damnation, for He suffered and bore the pun- 
ishment in His own body and soul for us who are par- 
takers of sin in body and soul. Gal. 3 : 13, Eph. 1 : 7, 
1 Cor. 15 : 55, 57. 

2. He has secured for and brought to us : 

a) The favor of God, i. e., the divine pleasure in those 
who are cleansed from sin by the blood of Christ. Rom. 
5: 2. 



* Since Christ made a sacrifice on the cross once for all, Christians 
have no other " altar." Wherefore the Eeformed Church, as also 
the Church of the first centuries, does not recognize an altar in the 
house of the Lord. It makes use of a table for the celebration of 
the Lord's Supper, which Christ also instituted aud celebrated with 
His disciples, not at an altar, but at a table. 

, 17 



154 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



b) Righteousness, since we are justified before God 
by faith on account of Christ's merits. 2 Cor. 5 : 21. 

c) Eternal life, which begins not after death, but im- 
mediately upon the regeneration of the sinner, as all 
life has its beginning in birth. John 3 : 14, 15, 1 John 
4: 9. 

The three parts : The favor of God, righteousness and 
eternal life are expressed in the one passage, Rom. 5 : 
21 : That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might 
grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by 
Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Question 38. 

Why did he suffer under Pontius Pilate, as his judge f 

That he, being innocent, and yet condemned by a temporal judge, 

might thereby free us from the severe judgment of God, to which 

we were exposed. 

I. The Innocence of Christ. 

1. Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, was the high- 
est imperial officer and judge in Judea, and he only could 
authorize the death penalty, a power that was taken 
away from the highest court of the Jewish people, the 
Sanhedrim, when their land passed under the Roman 
yoke. 

2. That Christ was condemned under Pontius Pilate, 
is historical testimony to the fulfillment of proph- 
ecy, Gen. 49 : 10, as well as proof of the fulfillment of 
Christ's own prediction, recorded in Luke 18 : 32, 33, 
" For he shall be delivered unto the gentiles, and shall 
be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on, and 
they shall scourge him and put him to death, and the 
third day he shall rise again." 

3. Christ was not to suffer death at the hands of his 
enemies privately or in a public tumult, but was to be 
openly sentenced by a regular judge, and that by a gen- 
tile, after the rulers of the Jews had condemned Him 
to death. Acts 4 : 27. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 155 



4. The trial of Christ before a temporal, i. e., a legal 
tribunal, served the purpose of bringing out His inno- 
cence, in accordance with which He suffered death, 
although without personal sin and guilt. Pilate exam- 
ined Him twice, first in his own palace, and afterwards 
before the rulers of the people. At three different 
times he declared His innocence before the people, 
besides appealing to a like judgment of Herod, and, in 
addition, performing the symbolical act of washing his 
hands, making a total of five attestations. The warn- 
ing of his wife Claudia Procula carried with it the same 
testimony. Matt. 27, Luke 23, John 18, 19. 

5. The Apostles lay stress upon the fact that Christ 
stood before Pilate as historical testimony (Acts 3 : 13, 
14 ; 13 : 28), and that He was innocentlv condemned. 
1 Tim. 6 : 13. 

II. His Condemnation for Us. 

1. Although the innocence of Christ was acknowl- 
edged and declared before the temporal judge, yet was 
He condemned. Humanly speaking, the reason is to 
be found in the clamorous demonstrations of His ene- 
mies and the vacillation of Pilate, who feared his own 
deposition (John 19 : 12), besides bting influenced by 
an uneasy conscience on account of his many deeds of 
violence (Luke 13 : 1) and extortion. But the ulti- 
mate ground (hidden also from the Jews, Acts 3 : 17 : 
I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also 
your rulers) lay in the counsel and will of God, 
according to which the cruel sentence of death which 
He must suffer on our account was to pass upon the 
innocent surety. Therefore the sentence of death must 
also be pronounced by divinely constituted authority, 
John 19: 11: "Thou couldest have no power at all 
against me, except it were given thee from above.' ' 
Nevertheless the guilt of the condemnation rests upon 



156 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



Pilate, whose hands might be cleansed with water, but 
not his conscience (Matt. 27 : 24), and upon the people 
who cried : " His blood be on us, and on our children." 
Verse 25. 

2. The condemnation of Christ by a temporal judge, 
who attested His innocence, doubly assures us that He 
did not suffer for His own sins, but for ours, and " there- 
by freed us from the severe judgment of God, to which 
we were exposed." 2 Cor. 5 : 21, Rom. 13: 1; 8: 1, 
John 5 : 24. 

Question 39 

Is there anything more in his being crucified, than if he had died 
some other death f 

Yes, there is ; for thereby I am assured that he took on him the 
curse which lay upon me ; for the death of the cross was accursed of 
God. 

I. Christ a Curse for Us. 

1. It would be inconceivable, and was not according 
to the counsel and law of God, that Christ should suf- 
fer " some other death," i. e., in consequence of illness 
or the infirmities of age. Since He was to be the 
offering for our sins, and in accordance with the divine 
order and law there could be no forgiveness of sins 
without the shedding of blood. Christ must die a vio- 
lent death. Heb. 9 : 22. 

2. Of all the modes of death and of bodily punish- 
ment, crucifixion was the bitterest. 

a) It was the most painful and agonizing death, 
because the one crucified was slowly consumed by ter- 
rible pains in his limbs and vital organs, and by fever 
heat, while his soul suffered the most excruciating tor- 
tures. Ps. 22 : 14. 

b) It was the most disgraceful death. Only slaves, 
seditious persons, highway robbers (such as the two 
who were crucified with Christ) were crucified. Isaiah 
53 : 3. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 157 



c) It was accursed of God. A special curse lay upon 
it, since this mode of execution represented the extreme 
penalty for an offence punishable by death. Deut. 21': 
23, Isa. 53 : 4. 

3. Through the death of Christ upon the cross 
prophecy was fulfilled. 

a) The prophecy in the type of the brazen serpent. 
Num. 21 : 6-9. The brazen serpent erected upon a 
pole that all who looked upon it in faith might be 
healed, was made in the form of the fiery serpents by 
which the children of Israel had been bitten. So also 
Christ, "in the likeness of sinful flesh" (Rom. 8:3), 
was elevated upon the cross, that whosoever should look 
upon Him in faith, might not perish because of the bite 
of the old serpent (Gen. 3), and because of the conse- 
quences of sin in the flesh. Christ Himself declared 
that the brazen serpent was a type of Himself. John 3 : 
14, 15. 

b) The prophecy of Christ Himself. Matt. 20 : 19, 
John 18 : 31,32. John evidently had in mind the 
words of Jesus (John 3: 14, 15), in which He inti- 
mated this death. 

4. The Providence of God in the condemnation of 
Jesus to die upon the cross is worthy of notice. 

Before the ecclesiastical court of the people of Israel 
He was accused of blasphemy, the greatest crime against 
the law of God, and, although the testimony of the false 
witnesses did not agree and no proof of His guilt was 
offered, yet He was condemned to death. The Jews 
said to Pilate : We have a law, and by our law he 
ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. 
John 19 : 7. According to the law of Moses, stoning 
was the punishment for blasphemy. Lev. 24 : 16. This 
punishment could be further intensified by hanging the 
body of the person stoned to death upon a tree or pole 
as a special indignity. Since the Jews were not allowed 



158 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



to execute this sentence, and blasphemy of the God of 
Israel did not constitute a ground of condemnation 
before the temporal court, the rulers of the people 
accused Jesus before Pilate of sedition, the most hein- 
ous civil offence. Mark 15 : 12, John 18 : 33. (Compare 
also the superscription on the cross, which indicated the 
nature of the accusation, Matt. 27 : 37). Although in 
the trial the innocence of Jesus was established, yet He 
was condemned to death by the temporal court as the 
King of Israel, as He had been condemned by the 
ecclesiastical court as the Son of God. The punishment 
for sedition among the Romans was crucifixion. With 
the nature of this death, elevation upon the cross, cor- 
responds the penalty provided by the law of Moses for 
blasphemy, viz., that one who had been stoned was also 
hanged. 

5. In accordance with the counsel and will of God, 
Jesus was to die upon the cross, yet the men who were 
responsible for His crucifixion, carried the guilt of their 
own sins. Pilate ended his life by suicide while in 
banishment, to which the Emperor sentenced him, 
upon the accusation of the Jews, on account of his 
numerous acts of injustice. The Jews cried out against 
Jesus: Away, away with Him, crucify Him! (John 
19: 15.) At the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans 
(in the year 70 A. D.), the Jews, impelled by hunger, 
escaped in large numbers from the city into the camp 
of the Romans. Titus commanded all to be crucified 
in sight of the city, and oftentimes no less than 500 
were hanging before the walls. Jerusalem itself was 
entirely destroyed after it had been conquered, and the 
people were scattered in all lands. It was the day of 
wrath and the revelation of the righteous "judgment 
of God." Rom. 2:5. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



159 



II. The Removal of the Curse From us Through the Death of 
Christ Upou the Cross. 

1. Death upon the cross was " accursed of God," cor- 
responding to death by hanging among the Jews. Deut. 
21 : 22, 23. 

2. Christ was guiltless, yet voluntarily took upon 
Himself the accursed death of the cross, and thereby 
" took on Him the curse (i. e., the heaviest penalty for 
sin) which lay upon me," and removed it from me. 
Of this I am assured by the death of Christ upon the 
cross. Gal. 3 : 13, Deut. 21 : 33, Col. 2 : 14, Heb. 12 : 
2; 13: 12, 13. 

3. The cross was the symbol of the deepest ignominy. 
In Christ it has become the symbol of highest honor, 
so that the announcement of redemption by Jesus Christ 
is called the preaching of the cross. 1 Cor. 1 : 18 ; 2 : 
2. The cross has become the symbol of Christianity, 
and it has also been perverted into a superstitious sign. 

Question 40. 

Why was it necessary for Christ to humble himself even unto death f 

Because with respect to the justice and truth of God, satisfaction 
for our sins could be made no otherwise than by the death of the 
Son of God. 

I. In Relation to the Justice of God. 

1. In accordance with the righteousness of God the 
sinner had to die. Because Christ appeared for us, 
i. e., in our stead before the judgment of God, it was 
necessary to execute God's justice upon Him, and He 
had to die, thus paying the penalty, i. e., rendering 
satisfaction for us. Gen. 2 : 17, Eom. 6 : 23 ; 1 : 32, 
Matt. 20 : 28, Horn. 5 : 8. 



160 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



II. In Relation to the Truth of God. 

That the Son of God was to die for our sins, had been 
foretold of God by word and types in the Old Testa- 
ment, and on account of the truth of God these prophe- 
cies must be fulfilled. Isa. 53 : 10, Luke 24 : 26. 

a) By word. Ps. 18 : 4, 5 ; 22 : 15, Isa. 53 : 8. 

b) In types. The sacrifice of Isaac, Gen. 22 ; all 
the sacrifices (Heb. 9 : 9-14), especially the sacrifice 
on the great day of atonement (Heb. 10 : 12, 14) ; the 
paschal lamb (1 Cor. 5: 7). 

III. For Whom Christ Died. 

The power of Christ's death becomes manifest only 
in God's chosen ones, i. e., true believers. 

Question 41. 

Why was he also buried f 
Thereby to prove that he was really dead. 

I. The Burial of Christ as Evidence of His Death. 

Persons that were crucified often hung upon the cross 
more than a day before death took place. The Jews 
were required by their law to take down persons cruci- 
fied on the day of their execution (Deut. 21 : 23), and 
therefore it was their custom to break the limbs of those 
crucified who were still living in order to hasten their 
death. Jesus had expired at three o'clock in the after- 
noon (Matt. 27 : 46), and when toward evening, at the 
request of the Jews, Pilate gave the command that their 
legs be broken and they be taken down, the soldiers 
broke the legs of the two thieves, but not those of Jesus 
when they saw that He was already dead. When the 
soldier thrust his spear into Jesus' side, blood and water 
flowed forth, proving that death had taken place. John 
19 : 31—35. The soldiers were convinced by what they 
saw and by the test they had made that Jesus was really 



THE HEIDELBEEG CATECHISM. 161 



dead. After the announcement was made to Pilate by 
the captain of the guard (Mark 15 : 44, 45), permission 
was given to Joseph of Arimathea and to Nicodemus to 
bury Him. His burial and what preceded it constitute 
a four-fold evidence of His actual death. The firm 
establishment of the fact of his death is important be- 
cause it precludes the possibility of a mere swoon or an 
apparent death. Christ must really, actually die if 
redemption was to be accomplished, and if the resurrec- 
tion was to be a progression from death unto life. 1 Cor. 
15 : 4, Isa. 53 : 9. Jesus had cited his burial as wit- 
nessing for Him. Matt. 12 : 40. So also in the parable, 
John 12 : 24 : Except a corn of wheat fall into the 
ground and die, it abideth alone ; but if it die, it bringeth 
forth much fruit. 

II. The Benefit of Christ's Burial to Us. 

1. From the burial of Christ we receive a two-fold 
benefit. 

a) The admonition that we be buried with Him spir- 
itually, i. e., in His redemption, and that we be separ- 
ated from sin and the world, Rom. 6 : 4. 

b) The comfort that His burial takes away the fear 
of the grave and sanctifies our rest in the tomb. Jesus 
was laid into a " new" tomb " wherein never man before 
was laid." (Matt. 27 : 60, Luke 23 : 53.) Job 17 : 13, 
Ps. 6 : 5. Whoever came in contact with a grave, 
according to the law of Moses, (Num. 19 : 16, 18) was 
unclean for seven days. Rev. 14 : 13. 

2. Olevianus. " The first benefit that we receive 
from His burial is the confirmation of our faith. We 
are not to doubt, since Christ died for us and was buried, 
that He humbled Himself for us in such measure, that 
neither death nor the grave can hurt us, because the 
Father's wrath has been appeased. For j ust as the vehe- 
mence of the sea ceased and it became calm when Jonah 



162 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



(who was a type of Christ) was cast out of the ship and 
swallowed by the whale, so Christ also declared in 
advance that He should be cut off out of the land of 
the living and be laid into the bosom of the earth in 
order that He might reconcile the Father and calm His 
wrath. 

"As in the first place the burial of Christ serves to 
strengthen our faith and confidence in God, enabling 
us to see more clearly the reconciled, fatherly heart of 
God, so also it is to promote our sanctification. For as 
Christ, having died for sin, rested in the grave, so also 
we, by the power of our communion with Christ, are to 
see to it that our old man be buried with Christ, by 
faith in Him and by the testimony of holy baptism ; 
that after our consciences have found peace in Christ, 
we rest from our former evil works and allow God to 
accomplish His work in us, and that we begin in our 
consciences here on earth the eternal Sabbath (Jesus 
remained in the grave over the Sabbath), until it be 
perfected, when we enter into eternal rest with Christ." 

3. The mode of interment among the ancients was 
by burial in the ground or by depositing the bodies of 
the dead in vaults. The first burial of which there is 
a record in the Scriptures is that in the family-vault of 
Abraham in the cave of Machpelah. Gen. 23. Not 
only Israel, but also the oldest civilized nations, the 
Babylonians, Assyrians and Egyptians, buried their 
dead. That burial in the ground is in accordance with 
God's order may, to a certain extent, be inferred from 
His words to Adam, For dust thou art, and unto dust 
thou shalt return ; and from His promise to Abra- 
ham, Gen. 15 : 15, And thou shalt go to thy fathers 
in peace ; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 
Deut. 34 : 6, And he buried him in a valley in the land 
of Moab. Cremation was introduced later only among 
the heathen. The effort to introduce this custom among 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



163 



Christian people is made on the one hand by those 
who not only have departed from the Christian faith, 
but who are consciously or unconsciously antagonistic 
to it. The movement is in reality directed against the 
doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. In itself it is 
the same to Almighty God whether he raises the new 
body out of the dust of decomposition or the ashes of 
incineration. Otherwise, what of the countless martyrs 
who died upon the funeral pile ? On account of this 
enmity, and because Christ hallowed the grave, the 
believing Christian will not consent to the cremation of 
his body, but will insist upon its burial. 

4. Because the grave has been hallowed for the believ- 
ing Christian, by Christ's rest therein, the dedication of 
Christian cemeteries is a superfluous ceremony. The 
only act of dedication that can properly take place is 
the ceremony connected with the first interment. 

A " consecration" (Einsegnung) of the body is,, 
according to Reformed principles, wholly improper, 
since for the reception of a blessing man must necessarily 
use his soul as the organ, but which is no longer present 
in the body. The " consecration" of the dead was not 
practiced in the Evangelical Church until it arose in 
the present century in the Lutheran Church, and here 
and there has also crept into Reformed circles. So also 
the formula, " the peace of God rest upon this grave," 
has no sense, because God's peace is a spiritual possession 
which cannot be imparted to a lump of clay. So also- 
there is no propriety in commending the departed spirit 
to the grace of God, since after death that grace bene- 
fits neither the believer nor the unbeliever. There is- 
an old saying, "As you believe so you live, and as you 
live so you die. And as you die so you go, and where 
you go there you remain." The early Reformed church 
knew nothing of the present-day style of funeral dis- 
courses which are, to a great extent, imitations of the 



164 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



ancient heathen eulogies of the dead, and which, accord- 
ing to the classification of Heinrich Mueller (in his 
"Hours of Refreshment"), fall under the head of 
" Leichenrede — Luegenrede" (funeral discourse — 
lying discourse) ; neither did it approve of pompous 
display at funerals. So also the ancient Christian 
church knew nothing of flowers and wreaths upon 
burial caskets, which formed part of the funeral observ- 
ances of the heathen of those days. 

The constitution of the Church of the Palatinate of 
1563 contained this paragraph : "At burials all popish 
and superstitious ceremonies are to be avoided. We 
are, however, to commit our dead to the earth with 
honor, as it is becoming, with such services as may be 
of profit to the living. In funeral discourses and 
addresses at the grave the minister shall abstain from 
-excessive praise. The sermons or exhortations shall be 
chiefly directed to the instruction of those who attend 
the burial, that they may learn how to live a Christian 
life and how to die happy. 

Question 42. 

Since then Christ died for us, ivhy must ive also die f 

Our death is not a satisfaction for our sins, but only an abolishing 
of sin, and a passage into eternal life. 

I. Our Death Not a Punishment for Sin. 

1. Death was appointed to man by God in the begin- 
ning as a penalty for sin. Gen. 2 : 17. Rom. 6 : 23, 
1 Cor. 15 : 56, Heb. 9 : 27. That for the sinner tem- 
poral death is a penalty, i. e.., a punishment for sin, 
and yet does not pay, i. e., discharge the debt, but 
on the other hand is for him only the introduction to 
judgment and to eternal death, this it is that fills the 
natural man with dread of death, and that makes them 
" through fear of death all their life time subject to 
bondage." 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



165 



2. For believers, for whom Christ died and who live 
in Him, the relation to temporal death (of which only 
we treat here) has been changed. In accordance with 
the counsel and will of God, death retains its place as 
the end of the earthly life. 1 Cor. 15 : 26. Since Christ 
by His death has fully satisfied for all my sins, my 
death is no longer a satisfaction for my sins. Since in 
Christ I enjoy the forgiveness of sins, I cannot die in 
my sins. In this way death has been robbed of its 
sting and power, so that the fear of death no longer 
abides in my heart. Heb. 2 : 14, 2 Tim. 1 : 10. 

II. Our Death a Complete Deliverance From Sin. 

1. Temporal death is a blessing to believers. For it 
is the end of all outward and inward distress and of all 
misery, which is their portion in the body of this death 
here on earth. On the contrary, to be compelled to 
remain in this vale of sin and misery until the time 
when heaven and earth shall be renewed, would be for 
them a burden so grevious as scarcely to be endured. 
Rom. 7 : 24. On the other hand it is not possible to 
enter upon eternal life in this mortal body, for flesh 
and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, neither 
doth corruption inherit in corruption. 1 Cor. 15 : 50, 2 
Cor. 4: 10. 

2. Temporal death is for believers an abolishing of 
sin. 

a) By temporal death, i. e., by the separation of 
body and soul, the soul of the believer is fully and for- 
ever freed from the flesh, in which sin reigns. Rom. 
7 : 18 ; 6 : 7, Heb. 4 : 10. 

b) By temporal death we are entirely freed from sin 
and thereby death becomes for us at the same time the 
entrance upon eternal life and the glorious libertv of 
the children of God. Rom. 8: 21, John 5: 24;"l2: 
26, 2 Cor. 5 : 1. 



166 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



3. Temporal death is to the body of the believer a 
sleep. John 11 : 11, 1 Cor. 15 : 18. For the soul, 
departure from the body is gain. Phil. 1 : 21. There- 
fore the believer often longs for death, 2 Cor. 5 : 2, and 
has a desire to depart. Phil. 1 : 23. Death has become 
to the believer, because of the death of Christ, a victory, 
which he approaches with joy and through which he 
passes in triumph. 1 Cor. 15 : 55, 57, Acts 7 : 55, 59. 

Question 43. 

What further benefit do we receive from the sacrifice avd death of 
Christ on the cross t 

That by virtue thereof our old man is crucified, dead, and buried 
with him ; that so the corrupt inclinations of the flesh may no more 
reign in us, but that we may offer ourselves unto him a sacrifice of 
thanksgiving. 

I. The Mortification of the Old Man. 

1. The first benefit which we receive from the sacri- 
fice and death of Christ on the cross is the forgiveness 
of our sins and full deliverance from sin in death. This 
rests upon the justification which He has secured for 
us. His sacrifice and death upon the cross have a fur- 
ther significance for our life upon earth, since that death 
also accomplishes our sanctification, the first part of 
which is the mortification of the old man. 

2. As in Christ our relation to death has become 
changed, so our life itself becomes different. As 
through Christ's death our death has been transformed 
into life, so our natural, sinful life shall be given over 
unto death. The " old man" is not the body, and to 
give the old man over to death, does not mean that we 
are to oppress the body by fasting and chastisement. 
u Our old man" is our inborn, sinful nature, the ten- 
dencv to sin and its indulgence. And above all the 
expression refers to the so-called favorite or besetting 
sins, i. e., particular inclinations to various forms of 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 167 



sin, e. g., to lying, to anger and hatred, to covetousness, 
to unchastity, etc. 

3. Our old man neither can nor ought to be laid aside 
merely outwardly, as is a coat. On the contrary, since 
it is a part of our inward life, we can only be freed 
from it by its mortification, which, on our part, can be 
accomplished only by its gradual destruction. The way 
in which this is to be brought about is indicated by the 
reference to the death of Christ in the words, " cruci- 
fied, dead and buried." In these words the Scriptures 
speak of the dying of the old man in believers. 

a) Crucified. Rom. 6 : 6, Gal. 5 : 24. Crucifixion 
is the bitterest death. Such it is also spiritually in the 
mortification of the old man. Matt. 18 : 8, John 12 : 
25, Luke 14 : 26. Crucifixion was also the most igno- 
minious death, and so every one who would live in 
Christ Jesus, must be prepared to take upon himself the 
ignominy of the cross of Christ, for it will become his 
rich portion at the hands of the world and the children 
thereof. Luke 21 : 17, Gal. 6 : 14, 1 Cor. 4 ; 13, Acts 
5: 41. 

b) Dead. Col. 3 : 5, 8, 9, Rom. 6 : 11. 

c) Buried. Rom. 6 : 4, Col. 2 : 12. 

4. Die (as to the old man) before thou diest (the 
temporal death), that thou diest not (the eternal death) 
when thou diest (the temporal death). 

II. How the Mortification of the Old Man Takes Place. 

1. Our old man died in Christ as the Scriptures teach. 
Therefore it is also to die in us. The mortification 
takes place through the destruction of the old man. 
But this we can accomplish only by " virtue of the sac- 
rifice and death of Christ." As in our natural birth 
sin is transmitted to us, so also in our spiritual birth 
(regeneration) we become partakers of the power of 
Christ's death, for the vanquishing of sin in our flesh. 



168 THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 



2. The evil desires of the flesh are indeed also active 
in the regenerate, but they are not allowed to reign 
over them, i. e., to obtain the supremacy. Rom. 6 : 
12, 14. 

3. We are to make an offering of ourselves to Christ, 
i. e., out of thankfulness to Him for offering Himself 
unto death as a sacrifice for us, we are to mortify the 
old man, to subdue and destroy more and more the cor- 
rupt nature that is in us. Ps. 51 : 17, Rom. 6 : 13. 

4. " What does it mean to be dead to the world and 
to sin ?" With this question a youth once came to an 
old experienced Christian. The elder said : " Go forth 
into the cemetery and call the dead that they come 
forth to you out of their graves." The youth was 
astonished at his words, but went and did as he was 
requested. He returned to the elder, saying : " The 
dead will not come." " Then go again," said the elder, 
" call them, praise them, and make promises to them." 
This also the youth did, and returning, said : " The 
dead will not come." The elder said : " Go for the 
third time and call them, chide and threaten them." 
The youth did so, and came back with the same 
answer: " It is of no avail, the dead will not come." 
" Learn then from the dead," said the elder, " what it 
means to be dead and buried in Christ to sin and the 
world, — strenuously to resist the voice of sin and of the 
world, and not to allow oneself to be moved by its flat- 
teries and allurements, by its reproaches and threaten- 
ings." 

Question 44. 

Why is there added, " he descended into hellt" 

That in my greatest temptations, I may be as-ured, and wholly 
comfort myself in this, that my Lord Jesus Chrift, by his inexpres- 
sible anguish, pains, terrors, and hellish agonies, in which he was 
pluDged during all his sufferings, but especially on the cross, hath 
delivered me from the anguish and torments of hell. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



169 



Why Christ Suffered in His Soul the Torments of Hell. 

1. The word hell (in Hebrew " Sheol," in the Greek 
" Hades," in the German " Hoelle," is derived from Hel 
or Helle, the goddess of the infernal world in German, 
mythology,) has various significations. 

Ursinus accepts the three following : 

a) The grave. Gen. 42 : 38, 1 Kings 2 : 9. 

b) The place of the damned. Matt. 11 : 23, Luke 
16: 23. 

c) The anguish and torments of hell. Ps. 116: 3, Ps. 
30 : 3 ; 86 : 13, 1 Sam. 2 : 6. 

2. As Christ was not only to redeem us in body, but 
also in soul from eternal condemnation, so He must not 
merely die, but also suffer in his soul the torments of 
hell, the punishment for our sins. This did not occur 
in the place of the damned, but at His death ; " my 
Lord Jesus Christ, by his inexpressible anguish, pains 
and terrors, which he suffered in his soul upon the 
cross, and before, hath delivered me from the anguish 
and torments of hell." 

a) " Before," in Gethsemane, when He was " sorrow- 
ful and very heavy," and His soul was " exceeding sor- 
rowful, even unto death" (Matt. 26: 37, 38), when He 
was " in an agony," and " his sweat was as it were great 
drops of blood." Luke 22: 44. 

b) " Upon the cross," when He cried out : " My 
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me !" Matt. 27 : 
46 ; when the father withdrew from him the feeling of 
His presence and communion, and He suffered the 
anguish and terror of those who are rejected of God. 

3. By Christ's suffering upon the cross, and before, 
the torments of hell : 

a) Prophecy, Hosea 13 : 14, was fulfilled. 

b) There is secured for me a certain comfort in the 
midst of my greatest temptations, as in times of doubt 

18 



170 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



of my redemption and salvation through Christ. Ps. 
42 : 7, 8, Isa. 49, 1 Thes. 1 : 10, 1 Cor. 15 : 55, 57. 

4. The conception, that Christ felt the torments of 
hell in His soul, not after His death in the abode of the 
damned, but in His sufferings in Gethsemane and upon 
the cross, is undoubtedly the correct one ; for His 
redemptive work was completed by His death. John 
19 : 30. But this belongs properly to question 37, 
which treats of the sufferings of Christ. " Especially 
at the end of his life, he sustained in body and soul the 
wrath of God against the sins of all mankind." The 
fact that the expression, " He descended into hell," fol- 
lows the articles, " was crucified, dead and buried," gives 
us a hint as to where the soul of Christ remained after 
His death, while His body lay in the grave. Neither 
is it said anywhere, that Christ arose from death, but 
" from the dead." 

5. That which in the German translation of the Bible 
has been rendered " Hoelle" — Sheol, Hades — has in the 
original in one place the signification grave, in another 
the place or torment of the damned, then again it sig- 
nified the realm of the dead, i. e., all who have departed 
from the earthly life, who are divided into two classes, 
the saved and the unsaved. Christ remained in death, 
i. e., in the state of death, as long as body and soul 
were separated. 

6. How we are to conceive of the realm of the dead, 
appears from the parable of the rich man and Lazarus 
(Luke 16 : 19-31). In connection with which it is to 
be remembered that not fancies, but veritable relations 
always lie at the basis of that which is figurative in the 
parables of the Lord. Those who have departed from 
this life, are found in two entirely separate places. 
Verse 26. From the expression " pass from hence," 
and from verse 23, where the rich man " lift up his 
eyes and seeth Abraham afar off," it follows, that the 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 171 



abode of the saved is on high (in " heaven, " where the 
holy angels carried Lazarus), and the abode of the 
damned is in the deep (in " hell," where also the fallen 
angels are). Matt. 25: 41. The Scriptures speak not 
only of heaven in general, but also of" heavens." Paul 
was " caught up to the third heaven." 2 Cor. 12 : 2. 
Christ says : " In my Father's house are many man- 
sions." John 14 : 2. The abode of the blessed, where 
the faithful of the Old Covenant enjoy the rest and 
refreshment of eternal life, is called Abraham's bosom, 
because unto him, the father of the faithful, are gathered 
those of his posterity (he was gathered to his people), 
who are appointed unto eternal life. Thither also the 
soul of Christ, as a son of Abraham according to the 
flesh, went at death, where it was in the hands of His 
heavenly Father, into which He had commended it 
(His human "spirit," Luke 23: 46), when He died 
upon the cross. To this points His answer to the thief 
upon the cross : " To-day shalt thou be with me in 
paradise." Luke 23 : 43. To the highest heaven of 
glory, upon the throne of majesty, Christ was exalted 
only by His ascension. 

Of a " limbo" or a " purgatory," as the Romish 
Church teaches, the Scriptures do not know anything, 
neither of what is taught by the Lutheran Church 
that Christ, before His appearance as risen, went imme- 
diately with body and soul, to the place of the damned, 
there to celebrate His triumph over hell and the devil. 

Question 45. 

What does the resurrection of Christ profit us f 

First : by his resurrection he hath overcome death, that he might 
make us partakers of that righteousness, which he had purchased for 
us by his death. Secondly, we are also by his power raised up to a 
new life. And lastly, the resurrection of Christ is a sure pledge of 
our blessed resurrection. 



172 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



L The Significance of the Resurrection of Christ. 

1. The resurrection of Christ consists in this, that 
His soul, glorified by the Father, was united with the 
body, so that the body was reanimated and also glori- 
fied ; and thus Christ went forth out of the grave alive 
and glorious. 

2. The body, with which Christ arose, was the same 
that was slain upon the cross and was laid lifeless into 
the grave, but not without the weakness and mortality 
of the flesh. John 20 : 27, Luke 24 : 39-40, Rev. 1 : 
18, Rom. 6 : 9. 

3. The resurrection of Christ was the work of the 
Triune God. 

The Father raised Him up. Acts 2 : 32, Rom. 6 : 
4, Heb. 13 : 20. 

Christ arose through the power of His divinity as the 
Son. John 2 : 19 ; 10 : 18. Through the Holy Ghost 
the living power of God is ever manifesting itself. 
John 6: 63, Rom. 8: 11. 

4. Christ arose on the third day, not earlier, that His 
real death might thereby be manifested ; not later, 
because on the third day the decomposition of the body 
sets in. John 11 : 39 (Lazarus). The body of Jesus 
was not to be subject to decomposition. Acts 13 : 35, 
37, Ps. 16: 10. The body of Jesus did not suffer 
decomposition, but came forth from the grave trans- 
formed, i. e., glorified. 

5. That Christ really and truly arose from the dead, 
is of greatest importance. For upon it are based all 
our Christian faith, our salvation and eternal life. 1 
Cor. 15 : 17-19. 

6. The resurrection of Christ is one of the best 
attested facts. The evidence in its favor is as follows : 
a) It was foretold in the Old Testament, as well as by 
Christ Himself. 1 Cor. 15 : 4, Ps. 16 : 10, Isa. 53 : 8. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 173 



As types of it under the Old Covenant may be cited: 
The going forth of Noah out of the ark, Gen. 8 : 16 ; 
the sacrifice of Isaac, Gen. 22 : 4, 12 ; Joseph's deliver- 
ance out of prison and his exaltation, Gen. 41 : 37 ; 
Aaron's rod that budded, Num. 17 : 1-11 ; Jonah, 
Matt. 12 : 40. Christ Himself had told His disciples 
on three different occasions that He would rise again 
on the third day. Matt. 16 : 21 ; 17 : 23 ; 20: 19, and 
in addition, John 2 : 19. b) Testimony to it was borne ; 

1. By His enemies. They knew of Christ's predic- 
tion of His resurrection, and they feared it. Matt. 27 : 
63, 64. But in spite of the stone, the seal and the 
watch, He arose. The Roman soldiers, who watched 
the grave, published everything that had occurred, but 
were bribed by the Jews to tell a lie. Matt. 28 : 11-15. 

2. By the angels. Matt. 28 : 6, Luke 24 : 23. 

3. By His appearance to His disciples, — to Mary 
Magdalene, John 20: 11-18; to the other women, 
Matt. 28 : 9, 10 ; to Peter, Luke 24 : 34, 1 Cor. 15 : 
5 ; to the disciples on the way to Emmaus, Luke 24 : 
13-35 ; to the disciples on the evening of the day of 
the resurrection, when Thomas was absent, John 20 : 
19-25 ; to the disciples eight clays later when Thomas 
was present, verses 26-29 ; at the Sea of Tiberias, John 
21 : 1-14 ; upon the mountain in Galilee, Matt. 28 : 
16 ; 1 Cor. 15 : 6 (he was seen of above five hundred 
brethren at once ; of whom the greater part remain 
unto this present — about the year 57 A. D.) ; to James, 
the Lord's brother, 1 Cor. 15 : 7 ; lastly to the eleven 
upon the Mount of Olives at the time of His ascension, 
Mark 16 : 19, Luke 24 : 50, Acts 1 : 4-9. 

The Risen One appeared in a glorified body. He 
ate and drank, not because He needed nourishment, 
but to convince His disciples of His bodilv resurrec- 
tion. Luke 24: 39-43, Acts 10: 41. He suddenly 
appeared in the midst of them, when they were 



174 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



assembled with closed doors. No material obstruction 
intercepted His glorified body. John 20 : 21, 26. 

After His ascension, Christ appeared to Stephen, 
Acts 7 : 55 ; to Paul, Acts 9 : 3, 5, 1 Cor. 15 : 8 ; to 
John, Rev. 1 : 12-18. To these He also appeared in 
His glorified bodily form. 

4. By His disciples, who had in part failed to com- 
prehend His words, that He would rise again on the 
third day, and had in part forgotten them, Luke 18 : 33, 
34; 24; 21. They were not prepared for the appear- 
ances of the Risen One, and were terrified by them, 
Luke 24 : 37, and to some extent continued to doubt 
His actual resurrection. John 20: 25, Mark 16: 14. 
When these same disciples, after being fully convinced, 
and having had the experience of the resurrection of 
Christ, preached the fact and sealed it by their death, 
they certainly are unimpeachable witnesses. 

5. By the saints of the Old Covenant, who after the 
resurrection of Christ came forth from their graves and 
appeared to manv in the city of Jerusalem. Matt 27 : 
52, 53. 

6. By the exalted Savior's own words. Rev. 1 : 18. 

7. By the spread and perpetuity of His kingdom 
upon earth, which must have a living, not a dead King. 
Matt. 28 : 18, 20. 

II. The Threefold Benefit of the Resurrection of Christ. 

A. The first benefit is our justification. 

1. Christ by His death paid the penalty of sin, and 
thereby secured our righteousness. Death had no power 
over Him to hold Him, because He was without sin. 
Heb. 7 : 26, 27. If Christ had remained in the grave, 
His death would have been of do benefit to us. 1 Cor. 
15 : 17. By His resurrection He proved Himself the 
Son of God, who made an atonement, not for Himself, 
but for our guilt, and, therefore, death had no claim 
upon Him. Rom. 1 : 4 ; 4 : 25. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 175 



2. His resurrection was necessary, that He might 
impart to us His purchased redemption, i. e., the for- 
giveness of sin, and that it might serve as a divine seal 
thereof to His people. 2 Tim. 1 : 10, Rev. 3 : 7. 

3. Olevianus. " The first benefit is, that the resur- 
rection of Christ is to us a sure testimony that God 
regards us as righteous, as St. Paul teaches : 'And if 
Christ be not raised, your faith is vain ; ye are yet in 
your sins.' 1 Cor. 15 : 17. From this we conclude that 
Christ, being risen, believers no more remain in their 
sins ; not that there is no more sin in them, but that 
these have been pardoned, and are not reckoned against 
them. For since Christ died, not for His own sins, but 
for ours, it must follow that not one of all our sins 
remains which was not fully punished and paid for, 
since they were all cast upon the body of Christ. 
Otherwise Christ could not have arisen, for where yet 
one sin remains the wages of sin abide, viz., death." 

B. The second benefit is our resurrection and sancti- 
fication. 

1. The death and resurrection of Christ are not a 
mere judicial process, upon which we may rest in an 
outward way : for when Christ imparts to us righteous- 
ness, which is the fruit of His death and resurrection, 
we must experience the power of that righteousness 
within ourselves, and the same conduces to our spiritual 
resurrection. We are now, i. e., here in this life, raised 
up out of the life of sin into a new life. This takes 
place in our quickening or regeneration by the Holy 
Ghost and through our sanctification, not of ourselves, 
but " by His (Christ's; power." As the mortification 
of the old man (Ques. 43, I., 1) by the power of Christ's 
death is the first part of our sanctification, so the quick- 
ening of the new man, the new life in us, by the power 
of His resurrection, constitutes the second part. Bom. 
6 : 4, 6, Col. 2 : 12, 13, 2 Cor. 5 : 17, Phil. 3 : 9-14. 



176 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



2. Olevianus. " The other benefit is the quickening 
of the new man. Just as Christ by His resurrection 
from the dead was declared righteous and free from all 
our sins, 1 Tim. 3 : 16, and was at the same time quick- 
ened by the power of God ; so also whoever is brought 
by the same power of God to true faith in Christ Jesus 
(for faith is brought about by the same almighty power 
of God, by which Jesus was raised from the dead), is 
declared free from all his sins and righteous in Christ, 
and together with Him is quickened unto eternal life. 
Eph. 2 : 4-10. Further, the resurrection of Christ is 
a pledge that we shall be able to stand fast and to 
endure unto the end in the faith, which we have 
received through His power, and that we shall not fall 
away from Him. For as Christ dieth no more, but liv- 
eth a life which can never cease nor be destroyed, Rom. 
6 : 10; so also those, who are ingrafted into Christ by 
faith, receive from Him a spiritual life, which is wrought 
in them by the Holy Ghost, who dwelleth in Christ 
:and in them, a life which can never be extinguished, 
mot even when body and soul are separated from each 
other. 1 Peter 1 : 3, 5, 9, Gal. 2 : 20. Since then 
Christ's life has been begun in believers, a life of such 
a kind and character, that it will never come to an end, 
so they are to feel assured that He will bring it to per- 
fection. 

C. The third benefit is our glorification. 

1. As Christ by His death became our surety and 
paid the penalty of our guilt, so His resurrection is for 
us the pledge, i. e., the certain assurance, that our bod- 
ies, after being subjected to temporal death, will, by 
virtue of His resurrection, be restored again from the 
dust and glorified, even as He arose from the dead with 
His glorified body. John 11 : 25, 26, 1 Cor. 15 : 20, 
21. Christ is called the first-fruits of them that are 
.asleep, which signifies that, as in the Old Covenant all 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



177 



the other fruits of the field were sanctified by the first- 
fruit of the field, which was offered and devoted to God 
(Deut. 26), so must also all the members of Christ arise 
to eternal glory, because their Head, as the first-fruits, 
arose gloriously. 

2. There is a twofold resurrection at the end of the 
world, one to eternal life, which is the blessed resurrec- 
tion, and another to judgment or eternal death. John 5 : 
29. But of the blessed bodily resurrection only those 
will have part, who are here spiritually awakened to 
the new life and walk in it. Rom. 8 : 11. 

3. Olevianus. The third benefit is, that " the resur- 
rection of Christ is to us a sure pledge that our bodies 
shall also arise to eternal life. For since not only our 
souls, but also our bodies are members of Christ, 1 Cor. 
6 : 15, it would be detrimental to the body of Christ, 
to allow His members forever to remain in death. 
Therefore it follows, that by the same spirit by which 
the body of Christ was raised from the dead, and which 
dwells in our body, we shall be raised from the dead, 
Rom. 6 : 8, 11, and shall be made like the glorious 
body of Christ, with complete victory over sin and 
death, and in perfect righteousness and glory. Phil. 3 : 
21. Therefore the happy and blessed resurrection of 
our flesh and subsequent immortality is already decreed 
to us by God, since He raised up our Mediator from 
the dead. 2 Tim. 1 : 10." 

Question 46. 

How dost thou understand these words, " he ascended into heaven f 
That Christ, in sight of his disciples, was taken up from earth into 

heaven, and that he continues there for our interest, until he come 

again to judge the quick and the dead. 

1. After His resurrection, Christ communed with 
His disciples for forty days, appearing to them in var- 
ious places and conversing with them concerning the 



178 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



kingdom of God. Acts 1 : 3. These forty days at the 
close of His redemptive work upon earth, correspond to 
the forty days in the desert at the beginning of His 
ministry. For the disciples this occasional intercourse 
with the Risen One, so different from the earlier daily 
association with Him, was a preparation for the time, 
when with their bodily eyes they should no longer see 
Him who was exalted to heaven. 

2. Christ was taken up into heaven. 

3. Christ, with respect to His human nature, entered 
heaven with the same body in which He became man, 
lived and suffered upon earth, died and rose, and which 
was now fully glorified. Otherwise His disciples could 
not have seen Him ascend into heaven. Mark 16 : 19, 
Luke 24 : 51, Acts 1 : 9, 10. 

With respect to His divine nature, Christ, even after 
His incarnation, was and remained everywhere present, 
therefore also in heaven. John 3 : 13. 

4. Evidence of the ascension of Christ. 

a) The prophecies of the Old Testament : 1. In 
word, Psalm 47 : 5 ; 68 : 18, Col. 1 : 13 ; 2 : 15. 2. In 
type, Enoch, Gen. 5 : 24 ; Elijah, 2 Kings 2:11; the 
high priest who entered into the holy of holies, Heb. 
9: 24. 

b) Christ Himself foretold it. John 3 : 13 , 16 : 28 ; 
20: 17. 

c) His disciples. (Peter) Acts 2 : 33, Eph. 4 : 10, 1 
Peter 3 : 22. 

d) His subsequent appearances in glory to Stephen, 
Acts 7 : 55 ; to Paul, Acts 9:3; 18 : 9 ; to John, 
Rev. 1:7. 

e) The outpouring of the Holy Ghost which Christ 
had promised to send from the Father to His disciples. 
John 15 : 26, Acts 2:2. 

5. Christ ascended into heaven " for our interest/' 
John 14 : 3 ; 16 : 7. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 179 

6. Christ continues in heaven until His return at 
the last day. Acts 3 : 21, Matt. 24 : 30, Col. 3 : 1, 
Phil. 3 : 20. 

7. That we do not see the Savior who is exalted in 
heaven, does not perplex us, but it is a test of our faith. 
John 20 : 29, 2 Cor. 5 : 7, 1 Peter 1 : 7, 8. 

8. Olevianus : " I believe that Christ ascended into 
heaven, i. e., I believe that Christ, who, with respect to 
His divinity, was at all times present in heaven, after 
He had fulfilled all things upon earth that were given 
Him to do, and for forty days had instructed His dis- 
ciples concerning the truth of His resurrection and the 
kingdom of God, ascended into heaven with the same 
body, which is of the same substance with our body, 
which He took upon Himself from the substance (the 
flesh and blood) of the Virgin Mary, which hung upon 
the cross, died and was buried, and arose immortal, that 
He, I say, ascended with the same body and with His 
human soul from this earth into heaven, where all 
believers dwell after this life. John 14 : 2." 

ftuestion 47. 

Is not Christ ivith us then, even to the end of the world, as he hath 
promised f 

Christ is very man and very God ; with respect to his human na- 
ture, he is no more on earth ; but with respect to his Godhead, 
majesty, grace and Spirit, he is at no time absent from us. 

ftuestion 48. 

But if his human nature is not present w her ever his Godhead is r 
are then these two natures in Christ separated from one another f 

Not at all ; for since the Godhead is incomprehensible and omni- 
present it must necessarily follow that the same is not limited with the 
human nature he assumed, and yet remains personally united to it. 

Both the 47 th and the 48th Questions treat of the 
relation of the two natures in Christ, the divine and 
the human, after His exaltation to heaven, and relate to 



180 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



the difference between the Lutheran and the Reformed 
Church with respect to this doctrine. The Lutheran 
Church teaches, that with the exaltation of Christ to 
the right hand of God, all the attributes of the divine, 
including also omnipresence, were communicated to His 
human nature. Thus it is intended to prove, that in 
the Lord's Supper the body and the blood of Christ are 
substantially present in the bread and wine after their 
consecration. The inference is thus drawn : The right 
hand of God is everywhere present. Christ sitteth, 
with respect to His humanity, at God's right hand. 
Therefore His humanity is everywhere present. Ursi- 
nus very pertinently proves this conclusion to be incor- 
rect : " Because the humanity of Christ is not itself the 
right hand of God's power, but is seated at the right 
hand of God, and because not everything that is seated 
at the right hand of God is on that account everywhere 
present. For Christ is seated at the right hand of God 
and conducts His kingly office, in accordance with the 
attributes of both His natures. With respect to His 
divinity He is everywhere present : with respect to His 
humanity He is not present in more than one place at 
one time, and yet remains Lord over all creatures, who 
upholds and governs all things by His divine power." 
In the consideration of these questions we must always 
be mindful of the fact that our thought and language 
are limited, and we must hold ourselves within what 
God has revealed to us in His word and the extent to 
which He has revealed it. 

1. Christ is true God and true man. This is revealed 
throughout the Scriptures, and we accept this truth in 
good faith, a truth with which also agrees the promise 
of the Lord : " Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the 
end of the world." Matt. 28 : 20. He is true God, and 
as such, viz., with respect to His divine essence, He is 
not limited either before, during or after His life upon 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



181 



earth. As true man He assumed in His incarnation a 
body that was limited (limited in space), and as He 
remains also after His exaltation to the right hand of 
God in heaven true man, so He also retains the char- 
acteristic of limitation in space belonging to a real 
human body. With respect to His human nature, He 
is, therefore, no more on earth. Matt. 26 : 11, John 16 i 
28, Heb. 8 : 4, John 17 : 24. If Christ were omni- 
present with respect to His human nature, they who are 
to enter into His glory after death, would not need to 
change their abode, but might be glorified here upon 
earth. 

3. But with respect to His Godhead, Majesty, Grace 
and Spirit, He is at no time absent from us.' 

a) His majesty, i. e., His power and glory, He reveals 
in us that we may know Him, love Him above all 
things, and that we may not esteem the world and its 
glory, but overcome the world and the devil, and do< 
all things through Him alone, who strengthened us. 
1 John 5 : 4 ; 2 : 14, Phil. 4 : 13. 

b) By His grace He bears us up continually, and 
assures our hearts of His love, although we yet sin 
daily. John 14 : 23. 

c) With His spirit He works powerfully in us, pre- 
serves us in living communion with Himself, and com- 
forts us at all times. John 14 : 18, Matt. 18 : 20, GaL 
4 : 6, 2 Cor. 3 : 18. 

4. Thus the two natures in Christ are not separated, 
even as they were not separated during His earthly 
life, since by His ascension He only changed the abode- 
of His human nature, exchanged earth for heaven. Of 
His divine nature what God said (1 Kings 8 : 27) is 
true, and of His human nature what is recorded in 
Acts 3 : 21. 

5. In this doctrine the Reformed Church is in entire 
accord with the Church of the first centuries, while the- 



182 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



doctrine of the ubiquity of Christ's human nature is 
new and has no foundation in Scripture. We shall 
liere cite the testimonies of the Church father Augustine 
(Bishop of Hippo, died 430). 

a) With respect to His Majesty, Providence, inex- 
pressible grace, what is said of Him is fulfilled : " Lo, 
I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." 
With respect to the flesh which the Word, the Son of 
God, assumed, i. e., with respect to that which was born 
of the Virgin Mary, was arrested by the Jews, nailed 
to the cross, taken down from the cross, wrapped in 
linen, laid into the grave, appeared in the resurrection, 
ye will not always have Him with you. Why ? Be- 
cause with respect to His bodily presence, after com- 
muning with the narrower and wider circle of disciples 
for forty days, He ascended into heaven, whither they 
followed Him with their eyes, but not bodily, and is 
not here. He is yonder, because He is seated at the 
right hand of God ; and He is here, because with 
respect to His Majesty, He is at no time absent from 
us. Or, with respect to the presence of His Majesty 
(i. e., His Godhead), Christ will always be present with 
us ; of the presence of the human nature (i. e., His 
humanity), what He said to His disciples holds true: 
u But me ye have not always." For with respect to 
His bodily presence, He remained with the Church but 
few days, but now He is present to faith, but not to 
sight. (Augustinus, Tract 50 in Joh.). 

b) Do not doubt that the man Christ Jesus is now 
in the place whence He will come ; and remember and 
hold fast the confession, that He is risen from the dead, 
ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of 
the Father, and will come from none other place to 
judge the quick and the dead, and in accordance with 
the word of the angel, Acts 1 : 11, shall so come in like 
manner, as He was seen going into heaven, i. e., in the 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 183 



substance and form of the flesh, to which indeed He 
gave immortality, but the nature of which he did not 
thereby take away. With respect to His human form, 
it must not be imagined that He has been effused every- 
where. For we must be on our guard, that we do not 
conceive of the Divinity of His person in such a man- 
ner as to destroy the reality of His humanity. For it 
does not follow that that which is in God is like Him, 
everywhere present. For the Scriptures also say of us, 
that in Him we live, move and have our being, and yet 
we are not like God everywhere present. But the man 
Christ Jesus is in God differently, since God (the God- 
head) is in the man (Christ) in an especial and peculiar 
manner. For both God and man constitute one person, 
and both one Christ Jesus, who is everwhere present 
with respect to His divinity, but in heaven with respect 
to His humanity. This is the confession of the Chris- 
tian Church, according to the simple understanding of 
the article of the Christian faith (Augustinus ad Dar- 
danum, Epist. 57). 

Question 49. 

Of What advantage to us is Christ's ascension into heaven t 

First, that he is our advocate in the presence of his Father in 
heaven ; secondly, that we have our flesh in heaven, as a sure pledge 
that he, as the head, will also take up to himself, us, his members ; 
thirdly, that he sends us his Spirit, as an earnest, by whose power 
we " seek the things which are above, where Christ sitteth at the 
right hand of God, and not things on earth." 

I. Christ our Intercessor in Heaven. 

1. Christ represents us in the presence of the Father, 
for He presents in behalf of those who believe, who are 
ingrafted into Him and constitute with Him one body, 
the righteousness which He has wrought out for them, 
and with which their sins are covered in the sight of 
God. Heb. 9 : 24, Rom. 8 : 34, 1 John 2 : 1. 



184 



TELE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



2. Because of His intercession, which is founded 
upon His sacrifice, our prayers offered in His name are 
heard by the Father. Hek 7 : 25, John 14 : 13. 

3. Olevianus. " Because Christ through His own 
blood entered the sanctuary, which is not made with 
hands, into heaven itself, it is a certain assurance, or 
thereby the world is powerfully convinced, that through 
Christ has been accomplished eternal righteousness, as 
Daniel (9 : 24) prophesied. So that it is not only evi- 
dence of our righteousness that Christ once entered 
into the holy of holies, but also the fact that He abides 
there and appears before, the Father continually in our 
name, is a continuous accomplishment or advancement 
of our righteousness ; because by virtue of His only 
sacrifice, with which He blotted out our sins in His 
bodv through eternity, He appears righteous contin- 
ually before the face of God. Heb. 9 : 24." 

II. Christ's Flesh our Pledge in Heaven. 

1. Christ is exalted to heaven in our flesh, i. e., with 
His human nature, which He received from us, and 
which He still shares with us in His glorification. As 
our surety, who had offered Himself to the Father for 
His chosen ones already before the foundation of the 
world, He entered into heaven and glory, as He had 
entered into suffering and death. Jer. 30: 21. In this 
we have the assurance that not only our soul, but also 
our glorified body will hereafter participate in eternal 
salvation. This assurance is further strengthened in 
that we stand in indissoluble life communion (head and 
members) with Him. " Does a head leave its mem- 
ber, does it not draw it after itself?" John 12 : 32 ; : 
14 : 3, Eph. 2 : 6, Phil. 3 : 20. 

2. Olevianus. " By His ascension Christ took posses- 
sion of the heavenly inheritance in behalf of all His 
brethren (in the name of all His brethren, i. e., His 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



185; 



believing ones), so that we now have Christ's flesh, 
which is our flesh, as a sure pledge that He, as the 
Head, will also take up to Himself us, His members, as 
He promised. John 14 : 2, 3 ; 17 : 24." 

III. Christ's Spirit as an Earnest Upon Earth. 

1. As Christ's flesh, our human nature, in heaven is 
an assurance of our eternal salvation in Christ, so is 
also Christ's spirit upon earth, the Holy Ghost in our 
hearts, the pledge of our salvation. Through the testi- 
mony of the Holy Ghost (Rom. 8 : 16, 17) we become 
conscious that we are children of God and heirs of eter- 
nal life> joint heirs with Jesus Christ, who has already 
received the inheritance for us and has entered upon 
it. Acts 2 : 33, 2 Cor. 1 : 21, 22, Eph. 1 : 13. Through 
the Holy Ghost our life is hid with Christ in God ; 
but when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then 
shall we also appear with Him in glory. Col. 3 : 3, 4. 
Of this the Holy Ghost assures us as an earnest. 
" They are pilgrims upon earth and live in heaven." 
Ps. 39: 12: " For I am a stranger with thee, and a 
sojourner, as all ray fathers were." 

2. The gift of the Holy Ghost, the spirit of the 
exalted Christ is not only an earnest of assurance, but 
is also to admonish and incite us that by His power we 
may become heavenly minded. Col. 3 : 1, 2, Matt. 6 : 
21. " Fit your heart for the place where you would be 
eternally." 

3. Olevianus. " On the other hand Christ sent down 
another earnest (over against the earnest of our flesh in 
heaven) which He received not from us (as His flesh), 
but from the Father, viz., the Holy Ghost, that He 
should dwell in our body and soul, and should be an 
indissoluble bond between the head which is in heaven, 
and us His members who are upon earth, and should 
assure us of the eternal inheritance in heaven." 

19 



186 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



Question 50. 

Why is it added, "and sitteth at the right hand of God?" 

Because Christ is ascended into heaven for this end, that he might 
there appear as head of his church, by whom the Father governs 
all things. 

I. The Signification of His Sitting at The Right Hand of God. 

1. Ursinus. " The sitting at the right hand of God 
is to be distinguished from His ascension into heaven. 
The one cannot take place without the other, they are, 
therefore, not the same. The article of the sitting at 
the right hand of God is distinguished from the preced- 
ing one in a threefold manner : 1. In it is set forth the 
object of the ascension ; for Christ ascended into heaven 
that He might be seated at the right hand of God. 2. 
Christ sitteth continually at the right hand of God ; 
but only once did He ascend into heaven. 3. The 
angels also ascend into heaven, and we shall also ascend 
into heaven ; but neither they nor we shall sit at the 
right hand of the Father. Heb. 1 : 13, ' But to which 
of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, 
until I make thine enemies thy footstool ?' How much 
less did He say this to any man, except to Christ." 

2. The sitting at the right hand of another has from 
ancient times been a mark of honor. Even to-day one 
whom we would honor is seated at our right hand. 

a) It is the highest mark of honor if a king should 
invite any one to sit on his right hand. When Bath- 
sheba came to Solomon after his ascension to the throne, 
he advanced toward her, and when he seated himself 
upon the throne, his mother was seated at his right 
hand. 1 Kings 2 : 19. The mother of Zebedee's chil- 
dren made the request of the Lord : " Grant that these 
my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and 
the other on the left in thy kingdom." Matt. 20: 21. 

b) The prophets of the Old and the New Testament 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 187 



beheld in their visions God sitting upon a throne in 
heaven. 1 Kings 22 : 19, Isa. 6 : 1, Eev. 7 : 10. 

c) The right, i. e., the right hand, is in ordinary life 
preferred to the left, because we accomplish the most 
with it, and it is, therefore, stronger than the left. It 
is the right hand of the king in which he holds the 
sceptre. 

Ursinus. " When we speak of the right hand of 
God, we derive the conception from human relations, 
as the Scriptures also speak of other bodily members 
with reference to God. The expression includes a two- 
fold significance : 1. The highest power and strength, 
or the omnipotence of God. Ps. 118 : 16, Ex. 15 : 6. 
2. The highest dignity and honor, or the majesty of 
God. The latter is here intended." 

d) The sitting at the right hand of God was promised 
to Christ. Ps. 110: 1. Christ Himself foretold it. 
Matt. 26 : 64. The apostles attest it. Mark 16 : 19. 
Acts 2 : 34-36, " For David is not ascended into the 
heavens : but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my 
Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy 
foes thy footstool. Therefore let all the house of Israel 
know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, 
whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." Ps. 
110 : 1, " The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my 
right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." 

Stephen beheld Christ at the right hand of God. 
Acts 7 : 55. 

3. Sitting at the right hand also signifies rest after 
labor. The sitting of Christ at the right hand of God 
after the work of redemption, corresponds to the rest of 
God the Father after the work of creation. 

4. The ascension of Christ was His accession to the 
throne, the sitting at the right hand of God indicates 
His reign. 

5. Olevianus. " We believe thus that Christ not 



188 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



only ascended into heaven in His human nature, in 
order that He might live there, as the angels, in eter- 
nal happiness, but that He might sit down in heaven 
at the right hand of God, i. e., manifest Himself at the 
throne of God as the King of the holy angels and of 
saints, and as the head of the Christian Church, through 
whom the Father governs all things, which dignity 
surpasses by far the dignity of all angels and other 
creatures. Heb. 1: 13, Ps. 110: 1." 

II. What is Embraced in Christ's Reign. 

A. Christ manifests Himself in the first place as the 
Head of His Church. 

1. He governs the Church which is His body, as by 
the head the human members are governed through the 
understanding and the will. Col. 1 : 18, Eph. 1 : 22, 
23. 

2. Olevianus. " On this account the exaltation of 
Christ in His kingdom is His induction to the highest 
honor, so that the Christ who before was crowned with 
thorns now appears openly in heaven before the angels 
and the saints in the most glorious light as King of the 
Christian Church, and as the Head of all angels and of 
the redeemed, that He might from thence work more 
powerfully in all His members than He did when He 
was bodily on earth ; and that He might prepare them 
for salvation and further them daily by the service of 
the Church, according to the order which He had pre- 
scribed in His Word and by the power of His spirit, 
with which He rules in His Church and dwells in it." 

3. The Pope of Pome maintains that he is the " vis- 
ible head of -the Church," the " representative of God" 
and the " vicar of Jesus Christ upon earth. He makes 
his appeal to the words of Christ to Peter : " And I say 
also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock 
I will build my Church ; and the gates of hell shall 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 189 



not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the 
keys of the kingdom of heaven : and whatsoever thou 
shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven, and 
whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in 
heaven." Matt. 16 : 18, 19. Since it is claimed that 
Peter was afterward bishop of Rome, they also claim 
that this promise passed over to his successors, the 
Popes of Pome. 

To this we reply : 1. The personal promise given to 
Peter for his good confession was fulfilled on the day of 
Pentecost, when the communion of Jesus Christ, the 
Christian Church, was first established upon the ser- 
mon of the man of rock, and there were added to it 
about three thousand souls. Acts 2 : 41. 2. The power 
of the keys was given by the Lord after His resurrec- 
tion to the other disciples, as well as to Peter, so that 
he was in this respect in no way superior to them. 
John 20 : 22, 23. 3. That Peter was bishop of Rome, 
cannot at all be proved, but it is a tradition that arose 
subsequently. 4. Even if Peter had been actually 
invested with the bishop's office in Rome (an office 
which did not belong to the Apostolate), the bishops 
at Rome would have only been successors of Peter as 
bishop, but not of his apostolic dignity, and the per- 
sonal distinction connected with it. 5. The Church is 
not in need either of a visible head, because the invis- 
ible Head (Matt. 28 : 20) promised to her His contin- 
ual presence, neither can a sinful man administer the 
highest authority of God as His representative upon 
earth. Christ Himself, before His departure to the 
Father, indicated His representative upon earth, which 
does not exclude His immediate operation, but includes 
it. The Holy Ghost is alone the " representative of 
God" and vicar of Christ upon earth. John 14 : 16 ; 
16: 14. 

B. Through Christ as the head of the Christian 
Church the Father governs all things. 



190 THE HEIDELBEEG CATECHISM. 



1. At the right hand of God Christ also superintends 
the government and judgment of the world. Matt. 28 : 
18, Heb. 1 : 3 ; 2 : 7, 8, Eph. 1 : 20, 21, John 5 : 22. 

2. The talk that is heard from unbelievers is very 
silly: "If Christ governs the world, then God the 
Father is superannuated (put on a stipend)." John 
10 : 30 : "I and my Father are one." This word 
of Christ holds true in His humiliation, as well as in 
His exaltation. He had subjected Himself to the 
Father, and yet they were and remained one. God 
was in Christ and reconciled the world unto Himself. 
2 Cor. 5 : 19. The Father has now exalted Him at 
His right hand and hath given Him all power in heaven 
and upon earth, and they remain one ; since the Son of 
God governs all things, God the Father also governs 
the world through Him. 

Question 51. 

What profit is this glory of Christ, our head, unto us t 

First, that by his Holy Spirit he poureth out heavenly graces 

upon us, his members ; and then, that by his power he defends and 

preserves us against all his enemies. 

I. Heavenly Gifts. 

1. Although Christ is invisible to our eyes, there 
exists between Him and believers, who are His mem- 
bers, the most intimate communion which is mediated 
by the Holy Ghost, who dwells in Christ and in us. 
The Holy Ghost is the royal gift of grace, which He 
had promised to send after His departure to the Father 
in glory, that by His gifts and powers here already 
the glorification of the members of His kingdom might 
be begun. Acts 2 : 33, Eph. 4 : 8. 

2. The gifts of the Holy Ghost are of two kinds : 

a) Extraordinary, — for extraordinary purposes and 
times, such as prophesying, speaking with tongues (in 
foreign languages not previously learned), and work- 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



191 



ing miracles. These gifts were largely bestowed in the 
times of the Apostles, and will doubtless be restored 
again at the end of the world. In the intervening 
years they are not entirely withdrawn, but are only 
seldom manifest. Mark 16: 17, 18. The fulfillment 
of the promise of working miracles, we may find 
recorded in Acts 16 : 18 ; 2 : 4, 11 ; 10 : 46 ; 28 : 5 } 
8, 1 Cor. 12: 4-11. 

b) Ordinary, — which are necessary to the salvation 
of every believer, e. g., knowledge, faith, love, hope, etc.,, 
Gal. 5 : 22. 

3. Olevianus. " The first benefit is that for the sake 
of Christ, and for His sake only, the Father bestows 
the Holy Spirit upon the elect, governs and quickens 
them by the preaching of the gospel through the power 
of the Holy Ghost, and not only adorns the entire 
Church with diverse gifts, but also bestows upon each 
member as many gifts as may be necessary to the 
honor and glory of the Head, to the edification of the 
whole body and to the happiness and salvation of its 
members, and to the extent to which the King Himself 
desires to work in each member, for His own honor 
and for the edification of the other members, as He 
says, John 15: 16, ' Ye have not chosen me, but I 
have chosen you and ordained you, that ye should go 
and bring forth fruit.' Therefore each member bring- 
eth forth as much fruit as is desired by Him who has 
ordained the same. But no member is left without the 
gifts necessary to his salvation, and none remain so 
fruitless as not to serve to some extent the honor of 
God and the welfare of the body of Christ." 

II. Heavenly Protection. 

1. Enemies on every hand, within and without, is 
the lot of every one upon earth who believes heartily 
on the Lord Jesus and confesses Him in word and 
deed. Luke 21 : 17. 



192 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



2. But we have a powerful Head in heaven who pro- 
tects and preserves His members upon earth : 

•a) Against our own flesh. Rom. 6 : 14. 

b) Against the world. John 16 : 33. 

c) Against satan. Rom. 16 : 20. 

d) Against death. 1 Cor. 15 : 26. 

3. As powerless as are these enemies against the 
Head who is in heaven, so little they prevail against 
His members on earth. 1 Peter 1 : 5, John 10 : 28. 

4. Olevianus. " The second benefit is the protection 
of the Church against all enemies, against sin, the 
flesh, the world, tyrants, unclean spirits, the secret and 
open instruments of these, all of whom the heavenly 
Father calls enemies of Christ, and with reference to 
whom He manifests by daily examples His power to 
overthrow them. In a word, we are members of the 
King, members, I say, of His own body, with far more 
certainty than the hand is a member of the body. All 
the hindrances which meet us in the whole world are 
brought into subjection to this King, that they cannot 
injure us ; yea, that even the thoughts and counsels of 
all kings, princes and lords have their beginning, their 
fulfillment or failure in His will, and He so controls 
them that they must be subservient to His own glory 
and to the salvation of those who believe on Him. 
Eph. 1 : 21-23. Therefore nothing from man or devil 
can befall believers without the will of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, who is seated in heaven at the right hand of 
the Father." 

5. This truth is illustrated in the life of Frederick 
the Pious of the Palatinate, the father of the Heidel- 
berg Catechism. Scarcely had the catechism been 
introduced into the Palatinate, when enmity arose on 
all sides against the Elector, especially on the part of 
his Lutheran co-electors and their theologians. He 
was accused before Emperor and Empire, and it was 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



193 



their intention, with the help of the Catholic princes, 
to declare his sovereignty forfeited. They even spoke 
of it that it might cost him his head. To his brother 
Richard, who gave him the information, Frederick 
wrote at that time : " I rely upon my dear and faithful 
Father in heaven in confident hope that His omnipo- 
tence will use me as an instrument to confess His name 
openly in the holy Empire of the German nation in 
these last times, not only with my mouth, but also by 
my acts. I also know that He has sufficient power to 
preserve me, a poor, simple (unlearne'd) man, and that 
He will preserve me through the power of the Holy 
Ghost, even should it come to this, that it would cost 
my life ; for which, should it please my God and 
Father in heaven to use me for such honor, I should 
never be able to thank Him sufficiently, neither here 
on earth nor in eternity." When he was called upon 
by the Catholic Emperor at the Diet, which convened 
soon after this declaration was made, in 1566, again to 
rid his land of his catechism and of other Reformed 
institutions, he declared before the entire assembly : 
" with reference to matters of religion, which I am 
called upon to change and to set aside, I announce that 
in the sphere of faith and conscience I know but one 
Lord, who is the Lord of lords and King of kings ; 
and therefore I say that this question does not pertain 
to 'a cap full of flesh' (i. e., his head), but to the soul 
and its salvation, which has been committed to me by 
my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and which I am in 
duty bound and prepared to preserve for Him. There- 
fore I cannot concede to your Imperial Majesty the 
right of authority over it, a right which belongs to God 
alone, who is its Creator. As far as my catechism is 
•concerned, I am committed to it. It is fortified in the 
margin by proof-texts from the Holy Scriptures to 
such an extent that it may stand immoveable, and it is 



194 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



my hope that by the help of God it may continue so to 
stand. As for the rest, I comfort myself with the 
thought that my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has 
given me, together with all who believe on Him, the 
assured promise that everything which I shall lose for 
the sake of His honor or name, shall be restored to me 
in the world beyond a hundred-fold. With this I most 
humbly commend myself to the grace of your Imperial 
Majesty." Rightly did Boquinus say later in his fun- 
eral sermon for the Elector : " If martyrdom consists 
in the righteousness of the cause, the temper of soul 
and joyous resignation to suffering, then we may count 
this splendid Elector among the martyrs of Christ." 
Although the Emperor, after the Elector had departed 
from the Diet, declared that " the pest must be 
destroyed," yet no one dared to lift a hand against the 
courageous confessor. The Lord at the right hand of 
the Father in heaven, who had given to him the heav- 
enly gifts of faith and of courage to bear testimony, 
extended also His hand over him, " to protect and pre- 
serve him by His power against all enemies." 

Question 52 

What comfort is it to thee, that " Christ shall come again to judge 
the quick and the dead f" 

That in all my sorrows and persecutions, with uplifted head, 1 
look for the very same person who before oflered himself, for my 
sake, to the tribunal of God, and hath removed all curse from me r 
to come as judge from heaven ; who shall cast all his and my ene- 
mies into everlasting condemnation, but shall translate me, with all 
his chosen ones, to himself into heavenly joys and glory. 

I. The Final Judgment and the Judge. 

1. By His ascension Christ manifested Himself in 
heaven as the Head of the Church and Lord over alL 
As such He will manifest Himself on earth in His sec- 
ond coming, visibly before the eyes of the whole world. 



» 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 195 



of those who are yet alive, and of those who have died 
and will be raised again. 

2. Christ will come again as judge of the living and 
the dead. Acts 10 : 42. 

a) He will come from heaven. Matt. 26 : 64, Acts 
1 : 11. 

b) He will come in His glorified body, visibly and in 
glory. Matt. 25 : 31, 1 Thess. 4 : 16, John 19 : 37. 

3. Christ will sit in judgment : 

a) Over all men, the quick and the dead. John 5 r 
22, Acts 17 : 31, Matt. 25 : 32, Rev. 20 : 12, 13. 

b) He will judge: 1. Their thoughts. 1 Cor. 4: 5. 

2. Their words. Matt. 12: 36. 3. Their works. 2 
Cor. 5 : 16. 

c) The principle of the judgment. 1. The heathen 
will be judged according to the law in their hearts, i. e.,. 
their conscience. Rom. 2 : 12, 15. 2. The Jews accord- 
ing to the law of Moses. Luke 16 : 29, Rom. 2 : 12. 

3. Nominal Christians will be judged by the gospel, 
which they heard, but did not accept. John 3 : 36 ; 
12: 48. 

d) The judgment will be strict, and no secret sin 
will remain hidden from the Judge. Rev. 20 : 12. 
Even the sins of youth will be remembered, if not fol- 
lowed by repentance and forgiveness. Eccles. 12 : 1. 
Therefore David prays, Ps. 25 : 7 : " Remember not 
the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions." 

e) The judgment will be entirely just and impartial. 
1 Peter 1 : 17, Rev. 6 : 15-17, Luke 23 : 30, Acts 
17: 31. 

4. Types of the judgment of the world are : 1. The 
Flood, Gen. 6 — 7 ; 2. The drowning of the Egyptians 
in the Red Sea, Ex. 14 ; 3. The destruction of Sodom 
and Gomorrah, Gen. 19 ; 4. The destruction of Jeru- 
salem in the year 70 A. D., Matt. 24, Luke 21. 



196 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



II. The Expectation of the Judgment on the Part of Believers. 

1. The day of the final judgment awakens feelings 
of terror, and so also the expectation of the same, so 
much the more because no one knows when it will 
come. Joel 2: 11, Heb. 10: 27, Matt. 24: 36. 

2. The unbelieving world, however, does not expe- 
rience these terrors. Gen. 19 : 14, Matt. 24 : 38, 39. 

3. For believers the expectation of the judgment is 
associated not with dread, but with comfort, 

a) For the judge is the very same Christ who before 
offered Himself, for their sakes, to the tribunal of God, 
who bore their sins and thereby freed them from the 
curse and the punishment of sin, so that they have the 
forgiveness of all their sins, and are no more judged 
and condemned. John 5 : 24 ; 3 : 18. 

b) In this world they suffer many sorrows and per- 
secutions. Acts 14 : 22, 2 Tim. 3 : 12. In such sor- 
row and persecution the prospect of Christ's return to 
judgment affords them comfort. For it will bring to 
an end all their adversities. Therefore they await this 
day with uplifted head, i. e., with joyful confidence. 
Luke 21 : 28. 

4. From the children of God the day of judgment 
and of complete redemption is hidden, even as it was 
hidden from the Son of God in the days of His flesh, 
Mark 13 : 32 ; and with the flight of the centuries it 
seems as if God were delaying the fulfillment of the 
promise. 2 Peter 3:9. 

Therefore the Lord admonishes His own. Matt. 25 : 
13, " Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day 
nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh." The 
waiting must at the same time be a watching. " To 
look for" implies more than to wait. It implies prepa- 
ration, so to live in faith as to be ready at any hour to 
meet the coming of the Judge with joy, though He 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



197 



should appear suddenly. Matt. 24 : 44, 1 John 2 : 28 ; 
4 : 17. See the warning and admonition recorded. 
Matt. 24: 40-51. 

5. Even though the day and the hour of the second 
coming of Christ be hidden from us, there are signs of 
its approach to which we are to give heed. Matt. 16 : 
3; 24: 3. 

a) Matt. 24 : 14, ''And this gospel of the kingdom 
shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto 
all nations (though it may not secure the conversion of 
all nations and of all their individual members), and 
then shall the end come." 

b) 2 Thess. 2 : 3, " For that day shall not come, 
except there come a falling away first, and that man of 
sin be revealed, the son of perdition" (the antichrist). 
2 Peter 3 : 3, " Knowing this first, that there shall 
come in the last days scoffers walking after their own 
lusts .. ." 

c) Matt. 24 : 21, 22, " For then shall be great tribu- 
lation, such as was not since the beginning of the world 
to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those 
days should be shortened, there should no flesh be 
saved : but for the elect's sake those days shall be 
shortened." 

d) Matt. 24 : 29, 30, " Immediately after the tribu- 
lation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the 
moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall 
from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be 
shaken : and then shall appear the sign of the Son of 
Man (His visible manifestation) in heaven (i. e., in the 
clouds of heaven or in the skv)." 

III. The Redemption of Believers in the Judgment. 

1. The sorrows and tribulations which befall the 
children of God upon earth, proceed from the enmity 
of the world against Christ. For Christ's sake they are 



198 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



subjected to hatred and hostility, while they themselves 
seek to obey the injunction of the apostle, Rom. 12 : 
18, "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live 
peaceably with all men." 

2. The enemies of Christ are not merely those who 
openly by word and deed reject and blaspheme Him, 
but also those who, notwithstanding their knowledge of 
the gospel, persist in their carnal-mindedness, which, 
according to Rom. 8 : 7, is enmity against God; and 
likewise those who have tasted the good word of God, 
but fall away, and crucifv to themselves anew the Son 
of God. Heb. .6 : 6. These " His enemies," Christ at 
His return will cast into eternal condemnation. Matt. 
25 : 41, 2 Thess. 1 : 8-10, John 19 : 37, Rev. 20 : 10. 

3. All these enemies of Christ are also the enemies of 
the Christian, who in truth bears the name of Christ, 
oonfesses Him, and for the sake of whose name He is 
hated. John 15 : 18-21, 1 Peter 4 : 4-5. 

" All his and my enemies" are thus one and the same 
persons. Other enemies a child of God cannot have if 
he lives according to the word and spirit of his heavenly 
Father. Matt. 5 : 38-48, Rom. 12 : 17-21, Matt. 5 : 
22—24. 

4. The comfort which is found in the judgment of 
Christ over " all his and my enemies," does not indeed 
-consist in a carnal, malignant joy over their condem- 
nation, but in the sure prospect that believers are there- 
by delivered, i. e., set free forever from their oppres- 
sors and persecutors. Luke 21 : 28, 2 Thes. 1 : 6. 

IV. The Glorification After the Judgment. 
Not only shall the children of God be glorified, but 
also the whole creation. 

A. THE BODILY GLORIFICATION OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD. 

1. The redemption of the elect is brought to its com- 
pletion with the return of Christ, because then also the 
body will be restored and united with the soul, so that 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



199 



the whole man in body and soul will participate in the 
joy of eternity. The elect are those whom God, in 
accordance with His eternal counsel and will, endowed 
with true faith, and whom He preserves unto eternal 
life. The lost receive in the judgment what they 
deserved, on account of their sins, but the elect receive, 
as a gracious gift, eternal life. Rom. 6 : 23, John 14 : 3. 

2. At the return of Christ, His own, who have died, 
will arise first, and afterward those yet alive will be 
glorified together with them. 1 Thess. 4: 16-18, 1 Cor. 
15: 53. 

3. True believers, according to the promise, will not 
come into judgment, i. e., will not be judged and con- 
demned. But yet they will appear before the judg- 
ment-seat of Christ, in order that the works which they 
have wrought in God, even as the works of the wicked, 
may be made manifest, not for their own, but for the 
glorification of Christ, their Head, and that the grac- 
ious reward, which the righteous judge will give them, 
may be openly awarded, as will be done with the pun- 
ishment merited by the wicked. 2 Cor. 5 : 10, Matt. 
25 : 34, 2 Tim. 4 : 8. 

4. The three parables, Matt. 25, do not treat of the 
judgment of the whole world, but of the separation 
between true and nominal believers. Christ will judge, 
i. e., will separate those who bear His name only out- 
wardly from those who are truly ingrafted into Him 
and are anointed by His spirit, i. e., His elect. 

a) In the parable of the ten virgins, Matt. 25 : 1-13, 
the difference brought out is between dead and living 
faith. They all had lamps, outer vessels, but only the 
five wise had oil, the Holy Ghost. While tarrying for 
the bridegroom, " they all slept." But when the bride- 
groom came, only the wise who had received the oil, 
the anointing of the Holy Ghost, and had a living 
faith, were able to meet him and go in with him to the 



200 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



marriage ; the foolish had only lamps without oil, faith 
without power. 

b) In the parable of the talents, Matt. 25 : 14-30, 
the ground of separation is fidelity and unfaithfulness 
in life. According to the measure of the gift of grace 
and fidelity in work the gracious reward is bestowed ; 
those who despised grace, although they are counted 
among the " servants" of the Lord upon earth, are 
rejected. 

c) In the parable of the sheep and the goats, Matt. 
25 : 31-46, the separation is made on the basis of the 
sincerity of loving service, which receives even the 
humblest member of Christ into favor without reckon- 
ing upon reward. The selfish, who have no regard for 
the Lord in the person of His humble members, are 
rejected. 

5. The elect or true believers also experience, if not 
in their person, yet in their work for the kingdom of 
God, something of judgment. They stand and build 
upon the one foundation, which is Christ Jesus ; but 
the day of Christ's return will manifest what will stand 
the test and what will not. 1 Cor. 3 : 10-15. 

6. Olevianus. " The article of the second coming of 
Christ serves as a further confirmation of our faith. 
Since Christ is seated at the right hand of the 
Father in heaven, and exercises His royal prerogative 
and judgment, — first, to protect His own, while at the 
same time He keeps them under the cross and under 
manifold oppressions of the enemy, in order that the 
sin remaining in them may be subdued; secondly, to 
overcome and to punish the wicked, while at the same 
time He allows much to go unpunished in this life, to 
prove to them His patience and long-suffering. That 
we may not become weary under the sorrows and crosses 
under which Christ keeps us in this life for our own 
highest good, in order that sin may be destroyed within 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 201 



us, and that we may not fear too much the forwardness 
and insolence of the wicked, it is His will that we 
should lift up our hearts and our heads, and await the 
blessed advent of Him who will not always suffer the 
wicked to do violence to His faithful children, but 
when they least expect it will take vengeance upon 
them and completely deliver His own and wipe away 
all tears from their eyes. Isa. 35 : 10, 1 Peter 3 : 13-15." 

B. THE RENEWAL OF THE CREATION. 

1. Through sin there has come not only over man, 
but over the entire material creation, curse and ruin. 
Gen. 3 : 17. 

2. As man, so also the creation, groans under the 
curse and longs for redemption. Rom. 8 : 19-22. 

3. With the second coming of Christ the entire crea- 
tion will also be renewed. 2 Peter 3 : 10, 13. 

After all this we can see that the second coming of 
Christ is not a source of terror, but of comfort, to the 
elect. " He which testifieth these things saith, surely 
I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."' 
Rev. 22 : 20. 



OF GOD THE HOLY GHOST. 
Question 53. 

What dost thou believe concerning the Holy Ghost f 
First, that he is true and co-eternal God with the Father and the 
Son ; secondly, that he is also given me to make me, by a true faith, 
a partaker of Christ and all his benefits, that he may comfort me, 
and abide with me forever. 

I. The Being and the Person of the Holy Ghost 

1. Ursinus. " The Holy Ghost is the third person 
of the true and only God, proceeding from the Father 
and the Son, co-eternal in Being and attributes with 
20 



202 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



the Father and the Son, who is sent forth by both of 
them into the hearts of the elect, to sanctify them unto 
eternal life. 1 Cor. 2: 11, 12; 12: 11, John 3: 8. 

2. The Holy Ghost is not a mere energy or attribute 
of God, still less a disposition in the individual man or 
the apprehension of divine things as it prevails at one 
time or another among Christians (the so-called " Spirit 
of the Church") ; but He is in the one and only divine 
Being a Person like the Father and the Son, and is 
called holy, because being of the divine essence and 
different from the human spirit, he is holy and maketh 
holy.* 

3. The Holy Spirit is called the " Comforter," Par- 
aclete, of the same import as Advocatus, i. e., the one 
summoned to help, the Helper. Christ speaks for us 
in heaven as our intercessor (intercession), the Holy 
Ghost speaks to us in our hearts as the comforter (con- 
solation, i. e., comfort). The personality of the Holy 
Ghost appears clearly from the following : 

a) He is spoken of in the Scriptures with the Father 
and the Son, and after the same manner. Matt. 28 : 19, 
2 Cor. 13 : 14. 

b) In the creation He is distinguished from the 
Father (who speaks) and from the Son (the Word). 
Gen. 1:2. So also at the baptism of Christ, when the 
Holy Ghost appeared in visible form. Matt. 3 : 16. 

c) The Holy Ghost is self-active ; He comes, Luke 
1 : 35 ; He abides, John 14 : 17 ; He testifies, John 
15: 26 ; He reproves, John 16 : 8 ; He teaches and 
brings to remembrance, John 14 : 26 ; He prays for 
us, Pom. 8: 26, 1 Cor. 12 : 11, "But all these work- 



* The two adjectives derived from the word " Geist" (Spirit), 
" geistig" psychical) and " geistlich" (spiritual) are frequently in- 
terchanged. " Geistig" has reference to everything that pertains to 
the human spirit, and "geistlich" to that which pertains to the Spirit 
of God and the divine sphere. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 203 



eth that one and the self-same spirit, dividing to every 
man severally as he will." 

d) The Holy Ghost is the only true representative 
of Jesus Christ upon earth since His ascension. Christ 
promised Him as the " other" Comforter, i. e., the 
Helper in the place of Him who has been exalted to 
heaven and is to His people an invisible Savior. John 
14 : 16; 16: 13, 14. The Holy Ghost spake to the 
disciples and gave them commands. Acts 8 : 29 ; 10 : 
19; 11: 12; 13: 2; 16: 7. 

4. When the Holy Ghost is spoken of as the third 
Person in the one divine essence, there is no distinction 
of rank implied, but He is so called because He pro- 
ceeds from the Father and the Son. He is of the same 
rank as the Father and the Son. John 16 : 13-15. 
The coming of the Father and the Son into the hearts 
of believers and abiding there (John 14: 23) takes 
place through the Holy Ghost. The Divinity of the 
Holy Ghost, equal with the Father and the Son, is 
indicated by : 

a) The divine names which are given Him. Acts 5 : 
3, 4, 2 Peter 1 : 21, 2 Tim. 3 : 16. 

b) The divine attributes which He possesses. 1 Cor. 
2 : 10; 3 : 16, Isa. 40 : 13, Eom. 11 : 33, 34. 

c) The divine works which He performs. Ps. 33 : 6, 
Job 33 : 4, Acts 20 : 28, 1 Cor. 12 : 11. 

d) The divine honors which are ascribed to Him. 
Matt, 12 : 32, 1 Peter 4 : 14. 

5. The Holy Ghost is co-eternal with the Father and 
the Son, but His relation to the world is different in 
both the economies of God, the old and the new, 
through which He prepares and brings salvation to 
His own. In the old covenant He was active chiefly 
as the Spirit of the revelation of the Will of God (in 
the law), and of the future redemption (in the prophe- 
cies and promises). By the law He wrought repent- 



204 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



ance unto life, and by the promises He sealed the Son- 
ship of the believing covenant people. But the free 
manifestation of His power is announced as in the 
future. Isa. 32 : 15 ; 44 : 3, Ezek. 36 : 27, Joel 3:1. 
In this sense are to be understood the words recorded 
in John 7 : 39, " For the Holy Ghost was not given ; 
because that Jesus was not yet glorified." After the 
resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the Holy Ghost 
was " poured out" (manifested His full power) as the 
Spirit of sanctification in the new covenant. Acts 2 : 
16, Joel 1 : 1, Acts 1 : 4, 5 ; 2 : 33. 

6. The Holy Ghost is designated differently, accord- 
ing to His activities. He is called : 

a) The Spirit of Sonship. Rom. 8 : 15. 

b) A pledge and seal. Eph. 1 : 13, 14. 

c) The Comforter, i. e., the Helper. John 14 : 26. 
A) The Spirit of Truth. John 14 : 17. 

e) The Spirit of anointing. 1 John 2 : 20. 

f) The Spirit of grace and of prayer. Zech. 12 : 10, 
Rom. 8 : 15, 26. 

g) The Spirit of glory. 1 Peter 4 : 14. 
Olevianus. " In the first part (of the articles of the 

creed) we are taught of God the Father and the Crea- 
tion ; how out of pure love toward us, whom He adopted 
as His children, He created all things and upholds 
them. In the second part we are taught how the Son 
was sent into the world by the Father, how He became 
man, how He accomplished upon earth what was neces- 
sary for our salvation, and now appears for us in heaven 
until He shall return to judgment. But in order that 
the love of God the Father and the grace of our Lord 
Jesus Christ may be impressed upon our hearts, the 
Father gives us, through the Son, the Holy Ghost, who 
makes us partakers of the mercy of the Father and of 
the grace of Jesus Christ." 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



205 



II. The Office and the Activities of the Holy Ghost. 

1. After the Son of God had purchased and pre- 
pared for us redemption through His blood, the Holy 
Ghost imparts the same to us and makes us partakers 
thereof, makes us whole and holy. His activity is the 
work of sanctification. 1 Cor. 6 : 11. 

The Reformed Church prefers to speak of the 
impartation rather than of the appropriation of salva- 
tion, because sanctification is in reality not the work of 
man, but of God the Holy Ghost. Phil. 2 : 13. The 
exhortation of the Apostle (Heb. 12 : 14) has refer- 
ence to our exercise in sanctification, i. e., in godliness. 
1 Tim. 4 : 7. 

2. Just as Christ (Question 31), so also the Holy 
Ghost exercises a three-fold office : 1. Of reproof. 2. 
Of instruction. 3. Of comfort. John 16 : 7-13. 

a) The Holy Ghost reproves, i. e., (literally) con- 
vinces the world, the natural man, of sin (" because 
they believe not on me," which since the revelation of 
God in Christ is the greatest sin), of righteousness (viz., 
that before God no other righteousness avails except 
that which Christ has purchased by His death and 
ascension to the glory of the Father), and of judgment 
(by which He judges the world, and from which only 
he will be freed who believes on Him who has over- 
come the prince of this world). By His reproofs the 
Holy Ghost works repentance and conversion. 

b) He teaches believers, in that He opens to them 
the knowledge and understanding of divine truth, and 
furthers them therein from one stage to another. John 
16 : 12, 13. 

c) He comforts them, in that He is sensibly near to 
them in place of the invisible Savior, who is exalted in 
heaven and supports them in all things. John 16 : 6, 7. 

3. Ursinus. "The office of the Holy Ghost is that 



206 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



of sanctification, which is directly effected through Him 
by the Father and the Son, on account of which He is 
called the spirit of sanctification. The most important 
parts of this office are : instruction, regeneration, union 
with Christ and God, guidance, comfort and persever- 
ance." 

4. The Holy Ghost works in part directly, — He can 
awaken the longing for redemption in the heart of a 
man (e. g., a heathen) who is far from the covenants of 
promise and without the knowledge of revelation {e.g., 
the jailer at Philippi with his question, " What must I 
do to be saved ?") ; in part mediately, — through the 
appointed means of grace, the Word and the sacra- 
ments. Rom. 10 : 17. 

It is our privilege and duty to pray for the Holy 
Ghost. Luke 11 : 13. This also we cannot do of our- 
selves. It must be incited in the heart and sustained 
before the Father in heaven by Him. Rom. 8 : 26. 

5. The relation of the Holy Ghost to the soul of man 
is an entirely personal one. It is necessary that He be 
" also given me." Only there where He has entered 
the heart can He fulfill His office. Gal. 4 : 6. 

6. The Holy Ghost works in the heart "True 
Faith," whereby He makes us partakers of Christ, so 
that Christ becomes our own. Rom. 8 : 9. 

7. By the Holy Ghost we are also made partakers in 
Christ of all His benefits, i. e., the forgiveness of sins, 
righteousness and eternal life. The steps by which 
this is ordinarily accomplished, and which we call the 
" order of salvation," are the following : 

a) The call. We distinguish : 1. A general call, 
i. e., in so far as the Word is proclaimed to all men. 
Acts 17 : 30, Matt. 24 : 14 ; and 2. An energetic or 
effectual call, which proves itself in the case of the 
elect. Matt. 20 : 16, John 6 : 37, 44, 2 Thess. 2 : 13, 
14, 2 Tim. 1 : 9, 10. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 207 



b) Illumination, by which the Holy Ghost works in 
the hearts of sinners the proper self-knowledge (of sin) 
and the proper knowledge of God (of salvation). Eph. 
1 : 17, 18. 

c) Faith, i. e., the power wrought by the Holy Ghost 
in the heart of the sinner, by which he lays hold of 
and appropriates the benefits of Christ offered him. 
1 Cor. 12 : 3, 2 Thess. 3 : 2, Eph. 2 : 8. 

d) Justification and sanctification. By the faith 
wrought by the Holy Ghost in accordance with God's 
grace, the sinner becomes a partaker of the forgiveness 
of sins, of righteousness and holiness before God, in 
which the beginning of the new life, regeneration, con- 
sists. Kom. 5:1; 1 : 17, 1 Peter 1 : 1, 2, Gal. 5 : 22, 24. 

e) The sealing. The Holy Ghost comforts me and 
abides with me forever, i. e., He assures me of divine 
sonship, defends me against all the power of satan, and 
preserves me unto eternal salvation and glory, so that 
I am enabled to persevere in faith. Rom. 8 : 14, 16 ; 
8 : 28, 30, Eph. 4 : 30. 

8. The elect child of God is assured of his salvation 
by the Holy Ghost. When Olevianus was about to 
die, his colleague advanced toward him and said : 
" Dear Brother ! You are without doubt certain of your 
salvation in Christ, just as you have taught others ?" 
The dying man laid his hand upon his heart and said : 
" Certissimus !" L e., " most certain !" This was Ole- 
vianus' last word. 

9. Olevianus. " To sum up all, the Holy Ghost is 
the only bond by which Christ dwells in us and we in 
Him, and as the branch is ingrafted into the vine and 
receives strength and life from the vine, so we are 
ingrafted into Christ through the Holy Ghost, that we 
may have true fellowship with Him and receive from 
Him eternal life." 

How do we know that we have the Holy Ghost ? 



208 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



From its effects. For as the wind is not seen by us, 
but its effects are felt, so also the Holy Ghost is known 
through the effects He produces, of which the most 
important are : First, believing prayer and childlike 
trust in our heavenly Father, Rom. 8 : 15, 26 ; sec- 
ondly, hatred of sin and love for righteousness. The 
struggle against sin is a certain indication that the 
Holy Ghost dwells in man. For flesh and blood has 
not revealed to us that we ought to resist sin, because 
it is the nature of flesh and blood to continue in all sin. 
God works this disposition in us bj the Holy Ghost, 
as St. Paul teaches. Rom. 7 : 5. Therefore the strug- 
gle against the remaining sins still clinging to us, and 
which distress us, should not discourage us. It should 
rather serve as a source of comfort, and give us courage 
against the sins which bring sorrow after sorrow upon 
us, since this struggle in us is a certain indication that 
we have the Holy Ghost. If we have the Holy Ghost, 
we are members of Christ, whose perfect righteousness, 
which He purchased for us by His death, clothes and 
covers in the sight of God the remaining temptations 
and sins with which we struggle, so that God will not 
regard nor remember them forever. If it be that we 
continue in this spiritual contest in true faith, the vic- 
tory will not fail us, as the Apostle teaches in Rom. 
7 : 19, 20, 24, 25, etc., a comfort which he concludes 
with these words, " There is therefore now no condem- 
nation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk 
not after the flesh, but after the Spirit," i. e., those who 
in their lives resist the sins of the flesh through the 
Spirit of God. Thirdly, further effects wrought by the 
Holy Ghost are confession of Christ and of His truth, 
that He may be honored ; also thanksgiving and hope 
of the help of the Lord. These are certain indications 
that the Spirit of God dwells in a man's heart. Rom, 
10 : 9, 10, 1 Cor. 12 : 3, Eph. 5 : 18-21. Finally that 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 209 



hope is a work of the Holy Ghost, from which each one 
may conclude that he is a child of God and of eternal 
salvation, and has also the child-like spirit and the 
pledge of salvation, may be inferred from the beautiful 
promises found in Ps. 2 : 12 and Horn. 5 : 1-5. 

Question 54. 

What believed thou concerning the "Holy Catholic Church" of 
Christ t 

That the Son of God, from the beginning to the end of the world, 
gathers, defends, and preserves to himself, by his Spirit and word, 
out of the whole human race, a church chosen to everlasting life, 
agreeing in true faith ; and that I am, and for ever shall remain, a 
living member thereof. 

It is to be observed that in the Creed it is not said 
"I believe on (or in) a holy universal Christian 
Church," as it is said I believe on (or in) God the 
Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost. " I believe 
one holy universal Christian Church/' which means, I 
believe that there is a Christian Church, and of it I 
believe that it is holy and universal. The same mean- 
ing underlies the statement of the remaining articles in 
the third part of the Creed. " I believe in" involves 
the personal revelation of man to God, of person to 
person ; " I believe one," etc.=" I believe that," etc., 
indicates that one is persuaded of a matter, i. e., has 
confidence in the same. The Holy Ghost is the Per- 
son. In the Church is the special sphere of His 
activity. The communion of saints, forgiveness of sins, 
resurrection of the body and eternal life are the bless- 
ings which He communicates in the Church. I believe 
in the Holy Ghost, and in Him I am certain of the 
blessings which I expect. 

I. Of the Name and Nature of the Christian Church. 

• 1: " Church" signified originally the " House of the 
Lord," and refers to the place where a Christian con- 



210 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



gregation assembles ; in a wider sense it stands for the 
congregation itself and for a number of churches col- 
lectively. In the widest sense it stands for the whole 
body of Christian churches or the congregation of the 
Lord. (" Gemeine" is the earlier, " Gemeinde" the 
present form in the German language ; the former is 
still used for the body of churches, the latter for single 
congregations.) 

2. The Christian Church derives its name from 
Christ, and is the " Church chosen to everlasting life." 
The election of God is the ground upon which mem- 
bership rests, and eternal life is its end. A note in the 
official edition of the Heidelberg Catechism of 1619 
says : " The word ' chosen' indicates the difference be- 
tween the outer, visible Church, in which the pious 
and the wicked are mingled together, and the invisible 
Church of Christ, to which belong, properly speaking, 
only those who are chosen, who truly believe and are 
godly in their lives." To such only the answer of the 
Catechism is applicable. Eph. 1 : 4, 10, John 10 : 27, 28. 

3. The Christian Church is spoken of as " one," 
because its members, " agreeing in true faith" and in 
spirit, are so closely bound together that they consti- 
tute one body. Eph. 4 : 3-6. The unity of true faith 
in Christendom finds its expression in the Catholic or 
so-called Apostles' Creed, which is common to all 
Christian Churches. 

4. The Church is called " holy," because it is sanc- 
tified by the blood and spirit of Christ, i. e., for the 
sake of Christ's merits it is looked upon by God as per- 
fectly holy and righteous, and is so renewed by the 
Holy Ghost that its members strive diligently after a 
holv life and character, and thus God separates it from 
the" world for Himself. 1 Cor. 3 : 17, Ps. 93 : 5. 

5. The Church is called " Catholic," because it is 
gathered " out of the whole human race," and is not 



THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 211 



limited by any people or country, neither by time,, 
place nor condition, race nor age. Mark 16 : 15, Rev. 
5 : 9, 1 Cor. 1 : 2, Gal. 3 : 28. 

a) The discord which arose in the human family 
after the flood, through new and common sins (Gen. 
11 : 1-9), the dispersion of the nations and the enmity 
which followed it, have been removed for all true chil- 
dren of God upon earth by the outpouring of the Holy 
Ghost at Pentecost. Acts 2 : 1-11, 17, 21. 

3. The name " Catholic" is not to be understood as 
if the Christian religion was to be the so-called " world 
religion/' and as if all individuals were to be embraced 
by it. Compare Luke 12 : 32, Matt, 7 : 14, Luke 18 : 
8, Matt. 24: 14 (a witness unto all nations). 

6. Other names of the Church than that of a " Church 
chosen," etc., are : The kingdom of God or of Christ, 
the kingdom of heaven (compare the parables in Matt. 
13), the body of Christ (Eph. 4 : 11, 12), God's house 
(1 Tim. 3: 15, 1 Pet. 2:5), Temple (1 Cor. 3: 17, 
2 Thess. 2:4), city and Zion (Heb. 12 : 22), fellow 
citizens and of the household of God (Eph. 2 : 19, 22), 
the flock (Acts 20: 28, 1 Peter 5: 2, 3), the bride 
(John 3: 29, Rev. 21 : 9). 

7. The Augsburg Confession, Art. 7. " The holy 
Christian Church is the congregation of saints (the 
assembly of all believers), in which the Gospel is purely 
preached, and the sacraments rightly administered 
according to the Gospel." 

8. Calvin. The Church is the " assembly of saints 
and the mother of believers. Wherever the Word of 
God is purely preached and the sacraments are admin- 
istered according to the institution of Christ, there is 
without any doubt a Church of God. The Catholic 
Church consists of a multitude of people, gathered out 
of all nations who are scattered abroad, and yet agree 
in their doctrinal views and are united by the bond of 



212 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 

a common worship. It embraces all separate Churches 
organized in city and village, according to man's need, 
so that each one rightly claims the name and character 
of a Church." 

II. Christ is the Only Head of the Church. 

1. Christ is the only foundation upon which the 
Church stands. 1 Cor. 3 : 11. He is the only Lord to 
whom the Church belongs. Acts 20 : 28. (Compare 
Rev. 5 : 9.) He is the only Head that governs the 
Church. Eph. 1: 22, 23; '4 : 15, 1 Peter 2: 9, Tit. 
2: 13. 

2. The activity of Christ in the Church and for it 
is two-fold : 

a) He " gathers" and unites the chosen members of 
the Church in His communion. Jer. 31 : 3, Eph. 4 : 
11, 12. To the gathering activity of Christ belongs 
especially the work of missions ; and even if the com- 
mand of the Lord recorded in Matt. 28 : 19 referred 
primarily to the Apostles, yet the Church has entered 
upon its heritage, both by the preaching of the Gospel 
in the congregation and by its proclamation among 
Jews and Gentiles. Isa. 49 : 6. The Apostles were 
sent forth directly by the Lord (Matt. 28 and Acts 9) ; 
but the work which we call " missions" was undertaken 
under the influence of the Holy Ghost by the congre- 
gation, and from Antioch, where the Christian name 
first arose, were sent forth the first messengers to pro- 
claim the Gospel among Jews and Gentiles. Acts 13. 

b) He " defends and preserves" the Church against 
all the enmity of the world and all the powers of dark- 
ness. Ps. 110 : 2, Matt. 16 : 18 (compare Acts 2 : 14, 
41), Matt. 28 : 20. 

3. The means by which Christ effects this work are 
" His Spirit and Word." The Spirit stands first, for 
by Him the Word is given, and without Him the Word 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 213 



cannot accomplish anything. At Pentecost the out- 
pouring of the Spirit preceded the proclamation of the 
Word. 

a) By His Spirit. John 6 : 63, Acts 16 : 14. 

b) By His Word. 2 Thess. 2 : 14, Bom. 15 : 18-20, 
Ps. 68 : 11. 

4. This work is carried forward by Christ " from the 
beginning to the end of the world." The building and 
the gathering of the kingdom of Christ in the world 
began immediately after the entrance of sin into the 
world, with the first promise in Paradise, Gen. 3 : 15 ; 
is continued in the Old Covenant, 1 Peter 1 : 10, H r 
Heb. 11, especially verses 39 and 40 ; and is completed 
in the New Covenant, Acts 2 : 42. What is recorded 
in Isa. 59 : 21, is true of the kingdom of Christ, both 
in the old and in the new covenant. "As for me, this 
is my covenant with them, saith the Lord ; my Spirit 
that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in 
thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out 
of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy 
seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth and for- 
ever." 

III. Of the Members of the Church. 

1. The Church is one body (organism) ; Christ is 
the Head, Christians are the members. Eph. 4 : 15, 16, 

1 Cor. 12: 27. 

2. There are different classes of members of the 
Church : dead, hypocritical, and true or " living." 

a) Dead members are those who are indifferent to 
revealed truth, or who believe only intellectually. Jas. 

2 : 17, Bev. 3 : 1. 

b) Hypocritical members are those who carry the 
name of Christ in their mouths and know how to speak 
of " knowledge" and " experience," but have not broken 
earnestly with sin. Matt. 7 : 21, 2 Tim. 3 : 5. Calvin : 



214 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



"Among the members of the visible Church there are 
many hypocrites who have nothing of Christ, except 
the name and appearance. There are some who are 
-ambitious, covetous, envious, slanderous, some of impure 
walk, who are endured for a time, either because they 
cannot yet be convicted by an ordinary judicial pro- 
cess, or because Church discipline has not always been 
administered with the necessary firmness." 

c) The true or " living" members are the chosen 
ones, holy and beloved of God, who have true and liv- 
ing faith in their hearts and bring forth fruit in their 
lives. Gal. 5 : 6, Col. 3 : 12-14. 

3. The visible Church is to be distinguished from 
the invisible. 

A. The visible Church. To it belong all who have 
been baptized into the name of the Triune God, and 
who have not publicly renounced the Church or have 
not been excommunicated by it. The visible Church or 
" Christendom" is divided into various larger or smaller 
communions. The larger are known as " Churches," 
the smaller as " sects." 

1. The following are Churches : The Roman Cath- 
olic, which has as its head the Pope, whose seat is in 
Rome. The Greek-Catholic, whose head is in part the 
patriarch of Constantinople and in part the Emperor 
of Russia. The Lutheran, which is named after Lu- 
ther. The Reformed, which retained the name that 
was originally borne by all the Churches of the Refor- 
mation, and which in its fuller title is known as " The 
Reformed Church according to the Word of God." 
We neither call ourselves Zwinglians nor Calvinists. 
1 Cor. 1 : 12, 13. " Reformed" means restored, renewed, 
viz., according to the Word of God ; and he only is 
truly Reformed who not only accepts the doctrines of 
the Reformed Church as the knowledge of the truth 
which is after godliness (Tit. 1 : 1), but who is also 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 215 



renewed in the spirit of his mind, Eph. 4 : 23. The 
Lutheran and the Reformed Church stand upon the 
ground of the Gospel, and, therefore, bear also the 
common name " Evangelical," in the Union (in Ger- 
many) as well as outside of it. They are to maintain 
peace with each other after the manner of Abraham's 
word to Lot, " Let there be no strife, I pray thee, 
between me and thee, and between my herdmen and 
thy herdmen ; for we be brethren." Gen. 13 : 8. In 
common they are to defend the honor of their King 
Jesus. " We as those of one race stand also for one 
man" (Zinsendorf). In common they are to oppose 
the enemies of the Gospel. " Divided on the march, 
united in attack" (Moltke), but not upon each other. 
They are also called " Protestants," which name they 
received at the Diet of Speyer in the year 1529, when 
they, the Lutheran and the Reformed states of the 
German kingdom, in common protested, i. e., entered 
a protest against the violence done to the Gospel by 
the worldly power. True Protestants, are, therefore, 
those who protest in behalf of, but not against, the 
Gospel. The Protestants justly claim for themselves 
that they restored the Apostolic Church, and the ques- 
tion of the Catholic opponent, " Where, then, was your 
Church before the Reformation ?" may be dispatched 
with comfort by a counter question, " Where was your 
face this morning before you had washed yourself?" 
The Reformed Church numbers about sixty million 
members. 

2. The above named Churches also stand for confes- 
sions, differentiated by their doctrines and institutions. 
1 Cor. 3 : 12. The marks of the true Church are: 1. 
That the pure and unadulterated Word of God be 
preached. 2. That the Sacraments be rightly admin- 
istered according to the institution of the Lord, and 3. 
That Christian discipline (Church discipline) be rightly 



216 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



exercised. Matt. 28 : 19, " Go ye therefore, and teach 
(1) all nations, baptizing (2) them in the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; teach- 
ing them to observe (3) all things whatsoever I have 
commanded you." 

3. The chief confessions of the Reformed Church 
are : The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), the Catechism 
of Geneva (Calvin's, 1541), The Scotch (1560), The 
Gallican (1561), The Belgic (1562), The ^Anglican 
(1562), the Second Helvetic (1566), and the Canons of 
Dort (1619). 

4. Besides the " Churches" there are a number of 
so-called sects (communions which have separated from 
the Churches), of which the Methodists and Baptists 
are the most numerous, both of which sprung from the 
Reformed Church. 

B. The invisible Church is included in the visible. 
To it belong all true and living members (see above 2, 
c), those who are still sojourning on earth, as well as 
those who are already at home with the Lord. Gal. 4 ; 
26, Eev. 21 : 2. 

4. There is a distinction made between the Church 
militant and the Church triumphant. The Church 
militant is the one which in this world fights against 
the flesh, the world and the devil under the banner of 
Christ. Eph. 6: 10-12. The Church triumphant is 
the one which already rejoices in heaven with the holy 
angels, and which will celebrate a complete triumph 
after the resurrection. Rev. 7 : 9-17. 

5. A three-fold distinction may also be made after 
the type of the temple in the Old Testament : a) In 
the outer court are those who are still unconverted, b) 
in the holy place, the regenerate, who still walk by 



* The Anglican or Episcopal Church of England belongs to the 
Reformed Churches so far as its confession is concerned. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 217 



faith, and c) in the holy of holies, the perfect, who in 
heaven do behold the face of God. 

6. The principal question is : " What is your rela- 
tion to the church and what comfort do you derive 
from the fact that there is a church chosen unto ever- 
lasting life ?" I believe " that I am, and forever shall 
remain, a living member thereof." That I am and 
forever shall remain a living member thereof, does not 
rest upon my will and strength, but upon the free 
grace, and the faithfulness of God in Christ Jesus. 
Eph. 2 : 8-10, 20-22, 1 Cor. 1 : 8, 9, John 10 : 28, Ps. 
23, 6. 

7. That one is of the elect of God and a living 
member of the church is evidenced : By his faith 
(Mark 16 ; 16) ; by a holy life (2 Tim. 2 : 19) ; and by 
the inward testimony of the Holy Ghost (Rom. 8 : 16). 
Living members of the church also must struggle all 
their life-time upon earth against sin, and may fall 
into grievous errors (as did David and Peter) ; but the 
Lord always awakens them again to repentance and 
strengthens their faith that they mav persevere. Luke 
22 : 32, Matt. 24 : 24. 

8. Of the perseverance of the saints, i. e., of believ- 
ers. Question 53 closes with the statement in reference 
to the Holy Ghost that He is given me that He " may 
abide with me forever." Question 54 closes with this 
statement with reference to the church : " that I am, 
and forever shall remain a living member thereof." 
In the former statement is expressed the one side of 
the doctrine of the perseverance of believers, viz., the 
preservation by the Holy Ghost, who never forsakes 
entirely or forever the elect, and in the second state- 
ment the other side is brought out, viz., the consequent 
confirmation and assurance of salvation. The doctrine 
of the Reformed Church with reference to election 
(thb term Election is found in Rom. 11 : 5) is not 

21 



218 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



treated in a separate question either in the Heidelberg 
Catechism or in the Catechism of Geneva (Calvin's), 
since both Catechisms were prepared primarily as 
hand-books of instruction for youths, and their authors 
accommodated themselves to this end through a wise 
consideration of the Apostle's distinction of milk for 
children and strong meat for them that are of full age. 
Heb. 5 : 13, 14. But that election is a fundamental doc- 
trine of the Heidelberg Catechism cannot be doubted, 
as a large number of questions (1, 8, 20, 26, 28, 52, 53, 
54 and 65) could otherwise not be understood at all in 
the sense of the authors, as given in their own writings. 
Ursinus, in his commentary on the catechism, treats 
this doctrine very thoroughly in connection with Ques- 
tion 54, which defines the " chosen" Church, and in 
this the expounders of the catechism have followed him 
for three hundred years. Olevianus with his last word, 
" certissimus," avowed the same doctrine in the face of 
death. 

With reference to the doctrine of election (i. e., God's 
free choice in the election and the sovereignty of grace) 
the Reformers were agreed with the exception of 
Lasco and of Melancthon in his later years. Their 
brotherly relation to Calvin, however, was not dis- 
turbed thereby, and this should serve as an example 
to us. God hath called us to peace. 1 Cor. 7 : 15. 

Question 55 

What dost thou understand by "the communion of saints ?" 

First, that all and every one who believes, being members of 
Christ, are in common partakers of him, and of all his riches and 
gifts ; secondly, that every one must know it to be his duty, readily 
and cheerfully to employ his gifts for the advantage a ud salvation 
of other members. 

By the " communion of saints" is not meant the 
church itself, of which the former article treated, but 
it is intended to set forth the relation of the living 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 219 



members of the Church to Christ their Head on the 
one hand, to their living fellow-members on the other. 
As members they have a right to all that Christ has 
secured for them by His incarnation ; as fellow-mem- 
bers they owe certain duties to all who like themselves 
are redeemed by the blood of Christ and are ingrafted 
into Him by a true faith. The relation to Christ the 
Head (Eph. 5 : 23) and to their fellow-members may 
be compared to the community of goods which exists 
between man and wife in the marital union. 

By " saints" are not meant the mere external mem- 
bers of the Church, neither those who are canonized or 
regarded as saints by the papacy, nor those who pre- 
tend that they are pious and despise others (Luke 
18 : 9), but true " believers" who in Christ are sepa,- 
rated from the world and are regenerated by the Spirit 
of God. Such are spoken of by the Scriptures in many 
places as " saints" (e. g., Col. 3 : 12, Eph. 1:1; 6 : 18, 
Phil. 1:1. 

I. The Communion with Christ and His Gifts— a Comfort to us. 

1. Believers are " members" of Christ. Eph. 5 : 30. 
They are thereby also " members," i. e., united with 
each other. 1 John 1 : 3. 

2. " All and every one who believes," i. e., all to- 
gether and each one in particular. The possession and 
enjoyment of the gifts of grace as well as the obligation 
of mutual love belongs to all in general and to each 
one in particular. Every one who believes, even the 
one who has only the beginnings of faith, enjoys the 
fullest measure of privilege in Christ fully. Every be- 
liever, whether he possesses little or much, is indebted 
to the other members according to the measure of his 
ability. 

3. The communion with Christ, i. e., the personal 
relation of faith to Him is the ground upon which 



220 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



we have a claim and share in His riches and gifts. Col. 
2 : 19, Rom. 8 : 32. 

a) Christ's riches, i. e., everything that is Christ's 
own, belongs also to those who believe on Him. 1 
Cor. 3 : 22. His Father (John 20 : 17), His love, (John 
17 : 2.3-26), His name (Rev. 3 : 12), His merits (Eom. 
4 : 24), His inheritance, heaven and His glory (Rom. 
8 : 17, John 12 : 26 ; 17 : 24), are ours. 

b) Christ's gifts are : Forgiveness of sins, righteous- 
ness and eternal life. Eph. 1 : 3, John 1 : 16. 

4. It is a great comfort to us poor sinners that our 
Lord is so rich, and that we participate in all His 
gifts. 2 Cor. 8 : 9. But of the right that we have to 
Christ and H ; s riches, grows the duty of more and 
more complete consecration to Him in body and soul. 
1 Cor. 3 : 23, 2 Tim. 2 : 11, 12. 

II. The Communion with all Believers— an Admonition for us. 

1. " Every one must know it to be his duty," i. e., 
know that he is under obligations to other members, 
and is to act in accordance therewith. Gal. 3 : 28, 1 
Cor. 12 : 26. 

2. " Gifts" includes all that we have, and this reminds 
us that we do not possess anything of ourselves, but 
that everything is given to us of God. 1 Cor. 4 : 7. 

3. The gifts include both the temporal and spiritual. 

a) Temporal. Rom. 12 : 1, 3, Isa. 58 : 7, Matt. 25 : 
35, 36. 

b) Spiritual. 1 Thes. 5: 11, 1 John 5: 16. 

4. Every one is to " employ his gifts, for the advan- 
tage and salvation of other members." What God has 
given to each one, both temporally and spiritually,, He 
has given not merely for each one's own possession and 
enjoyment, but also for the use and service of his 
brother. This condition is fulfilled when each one 
faithfully discharges his duty, and in addition con- 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



221 



tributes to the needs of others according to his ability. 
2 Cor. 8 : 2, 3, 4, 14. 

5. This is to be done " readily and cheerfully," i. e., 

a) Not from constraint. 2 Cor. 9 : 7. 

b) Not from impure motives, as did the Pharisees, 
who on that account had their reward. Matt. 6 : 3. 

c) But from love, which is the bond of brotherly fel- 
lowship. Col. 3 : 14, Gal. 6 : 10. 

6. With reference to the duty we owe to all believ- 
ers, we need to be constantly admonished, since by 
nature we are so deeply immersed in selfishness, which 
is overcome with so much difficulty. Phil. 2 : 4. 

Examples. The first Christian Church in Jerusalem. 
Acts 2 : 44, 45 ; 4 : 32-37. It was not social democ- 
racy, but Christian socialism, a) Every one was free 
to sell his goods, or to retain the money which he 
received for them. Acts 5 : 4 ; b) Provision was made 
for the poorer members of the Church according to 
their necessities. Acts 2 : 45. The difference between 
a Christian and a social democrat may be thus briefly 
expressed : The Christian says, " What is mine, is 
yours ;" the social democrat says, " What is yours, is 
mine." The alms of the apostolic churches which the 
Apostle Paul gathered. Acts 11 : 29, Bom. 15 : 26. 
The community of goods of the first Christians, of whom 
the heathen said : " Behold, how they love one 
another !" 

Question 56. 

What believed thou concerning " the forgiveness of sins?" 

That God, for the sake of Christ's satisfaction, will no more 
remember my sins, neither my corrupt nature, against which I have 
to struggle all my life long, but will graciously impute to me the 
righteousness of Christ, that I may never be condemned before the 
tribunal of God. 

The following three articles (concerning the forgive- 
ness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life 



222 



THE HEIDELBEEG CATECHISM. 



everlasting) treat of the benefits of Christ which we 
receive as living members of the Church. 

I. The Ground of Forgiveness. 

1. No person can forgive his own or another person's 
sins. Neither can the Church and its servants. They 
can only announce to those who believe, and assure 
them of the forgiveness of their sins. God alone can 
forgive sins. In this the scribes (Mark 2 : 7) were 
correct ; but the Son of man, as the Son of God, has 
also power to forgive sins. Mark 2 : 10, Isa. 43 : 25. . 

2. All sins, even those against men, are committed 
against God, because they are transgressions of His 
law. Ps. 51 : 4. 

3. The ground upon which God forgives sins is the 
" satisfaction of Christ." To believers under the old 
covenant it was the approaching, to believers under the 
new covenant it is the accomplished sacrifice of Christ 
upon the cross that atones for their sins. Rom. 3 : 25, 
1 Peter 2 : 24, Eph. 1 : 7. 

II. The Measure of Forgiveness. 

1. " All sins," great and small, without exception, 
are remitted to believers. The sin against the Holy 
Ghost (Matt, 12 : 31) can not be committed by true 
believers, the elect, because the Holy Ghost lives and 
governs in them. 1 John 1 : 7, Rom. 8 : 1, Ps. 103. 

2. God forgives believers not merely all actual sins, 
but also " the corrupt nature, against which I have to 
struggle all my life long." The " corrupt nature" is 
the evil desire which still clings even to believers, as 
long as they live in this mortal body, and disinclines 
them (Heb. 12 : 1) to fulfill the will of God in all 
respects. This is also sinful. Paul does not speak of 
his former condition, but of his then present regener- 
ated state, when he laments, Pom. 7 : 23-25 : " But I 
see another law in my members, warring against the 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 223 



law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the 
law of sin which is in my members. 0, wretched man 
that I am ! Who shall deliver me from the body of this 
death ? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord." 
Gal. 5 : 17, Ps. 103 : 3. 

III. The Nature of Forgiveness. 

1. To forgive sins does not mean to undo a sinful 
deed, which is not possible. God forgives sins in the 
sense that He " no more (in time and eternity) remem- 
bers" them, i. e., He will not visit or punish them. 
Jer. 31 : 34, Isa. 38 : 17, Micha 7 : 19. 

2. God not only forgives my sins, but " He will gra- 
ciously impute to me the righteousness of Christ." 
When by His act of forgiveness He removes from us 
the filthy garments of sin, we would stand before Him 
in nakedness and shame. He, therefore, graciously 
covers our nakedness with the garment of Christ's 
righteousness. Rom. 3 : 24, Isa. 61 : 10. 

3. When God forgives sins they are forever " for- 
given and forgotten." The temporal and bodily con- 
sequences of sin God either removes or allows to re- 
main. In the latter case they are not to be looked upon 
as punishments for sin, but as evils which are intended 
to humble and to warn us. 

IV. The Benefits of Forgiveness. 

1. Because God will not only not remember my sins 
anymore, but will impute to me the righteousness of 
Christ, it follows that the forgiveness is complete and 
secures this benefit " that I may never be condemned 
before the tribunal of God." The reference here is to 
the final judgment which will bring condemnation upon 
the sinner on account of his sins. But sin having been 
fully forgiven, there is no more sin at hand to be con- 
demned in the believer at the day of judgment. John 
5 : 24, Rom. 8 : 33, 34. 



224 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



2. To " believe " the forgiveness of sins means not 
merely to have a knowledge of all that is involved 
therein, but also to seek earnestly for forgiveness and 
to accept it with a repentant and believing heart. Ps. 
51 : 1 ; 32 : 5. 

Question 57. 

What comfort cloth " the resurrection of the body " afford thee t 
That not only my soul, after this life, shall be immediately taken 
up to Christ, its head, but also that this my body, being raised by 
the power of Christ, shall be reunited with my soul, and made like 
unto the glorious body of Christ. 

I. The Condition After Death. 

1. Man consists of body and soul which in life are 
most intimately united with each other. Death is the 
separation of soul and bodv. Gen. 35 : 18, 1 Kings 
19 : 4. 

2. The soul, the divine breath of life, is immortal. 
It continues, therefore, to exist even after the separa- 
tion from the body. But the body, when with the de- 
parture of the soul it becomes lifeless, decays and again 
returns to dust, from which it was taken at creation. 
Gen. 2 : 7, Eccles. 12 : 7, Matt. 10 : 28. 

3. That the soul remains alive after death appears 
from the fact that the body only is spoken of as par- 
ticipating in the resurrection. 

4. The separation of body and soul after death is 
really an incomplete state, because the two belong to- 
gether. 2 Cor. 5 : 4. But the disembodied state of 
the soul of the child of God after death is rendered 
complete by its being " taken up to Christ, its head," 
and thereby becoming free from all the weakness, want 
and suffering which are connected with life in " the 
body of this death," and participating in the salvation 
of Christ. Of His glory it will partake only at the 
resurrection of the body. Rev. 14 : 13, Phil. 1 : 23, 
2 Cor. 5 : 8. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



225 



5. " Immediately," i. e., as soon as death takes place. 
There is no intermediate state, as is taught by the 
Greek Church, or purgatory, as the Roman Church 
teaches. According to the latter, the souls even of 
believers are to be purified in some such place from 
many sins, and are to do penance for many things 
which they neglected to do. By indulgences, which 
the living also can secure for the dead, the time in pur- 
gatory for the latter is to be shortened. Of such a pur- 
gatory scripture knows nothing. Luke 23 : 43. Neither 
do believers stand in need of such a purification after 
death, since they are in the enjoyment of complete for- 
giveness. 1 John 1 : 7. 

6. A first separation between those who are justified 
by the blood of Christ, and the wicked, takes place at 
death. Luke 16 : 22, 23, Acts 1 : 25, Heb. 9 : 27. 

For the dying prayers may be offered, but not for 
the dead. 

II. The Resurrection of the Body at the End of the World. 

1. An " immortality of the soul" is accepted even by 
most heathen of all ages. But the resurrection of the 
body is a truth revealed by God to His people, which 
was already believed by the patriarchs under the old 
covenant, and was clearly set forth by Christ. Ps. 16 : 
9, John 11 : 25. That the resurrection of the dead was 
accepted under the old covenant, according to the stage 
of revelation which they enjoyed, Christ declared when 
He said to the Sadducees, Matt. 22 : 29, " Ye do err, 
not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God," 
and, verses 31-33, " have ye not read that which was 
spoken unto you by God ?" 

2. " This my body," i. e. f this body in which I 
now dwell and which will return to dust ; not another, 
foreign to me. Job 19 : 25, 27, 1 Cor. 15 : 54. 

3. All objections of the natural reason against the 



226 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



resurrection of the flesh, i. e., of the body, are an- 
swered by the words of Christ to the Sadducees, who 
denied the resurrection of the dead. Matt. 22: 29. The 
resurrection is no more a natural process, than was the 
creation of man, but like it, one of the miracles of 
divine omnipotence. Besides, this death does not affect 
a complete annihilation of the body, but only a disso- 
lution of its parts, which may be mingled with other 
matter, but do not escape God's hand, i. e., do not pass 
beyond the sphere of His almighty and omnipresent 
power. The same almighty power which created the 
first man out of the dust of the earth, is also able to 
restore the decomposed human body. Luke 1 : 37. 

4. Examples from nature : 1. The butterfly, whose 
body is the same as that which the caterpillar bore, 
from which it sprung, and yet is different ; 2. The seed 
of corn, which perishes in the earth, and yet from whose 
material springs up the stalk, which, in contrast with 
the unsightly grain, is both beautiful and noble. From 
this is drawn the illustration recorded in 1 Cor. 15 : 
42-44. (Verses 36, 37 of the grain of wheat.) 

5. The body is " raised." This biblical expression 
also points to the fact that the body in its material 
particles is yet at hand, and that no foreign body is 
substituted in the resurrection, just as a man awakes 
from sleep with the same body with which he went to 
sleep. The Scriptures also speak of those who have 
died in Christ as asleep. 1 Thess. 4 : 13, 14. To be 
" raised " means to arise, not to begin anew. 

6. The resurrection is the work of the Triune God. 
Of the Father and of the Holy Ghost. Rom. 8: 11. 
In a special sense, however, it is the work of the Son, 
because the resurrection of the body constitutes the 
completion of His redemptive work. John 6 : 39. My 
body is therefore raised " by the power of Christ." 

7. The resurrection by the power of Christ is actually 



THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 227 



pledged to us : a) By Christ's own resurrection from 
the dead ; b) By His raising the dead — the daughter 
of Jairus (Matt. 9), the youth at Nain (Luke 7), Laz- 
arus at Bethany (John 11). 

8. My restored body " shall be reunited with my 
soul," and thereby the complete man is restored for 
the enjoyment of salvation and glory. Ezek. 37 : 
5, 6. This prophecy is primarily a picture of the res- 
toration of captive and dispersed Israel. It may also 
be regarded as a picture of the human body held cap- 
tive in death and dissolved as to its elements. In real- 
ity the latter is the presupposition of the vision of the 
prophet. 

9. The resurrection body will be " made like unto 
the glorious body of Christ," i. <?., the body with which 
Christ arose and ascended into heaven. It was the 
same body which was laid into the grave and which the 
disciples again recognized, but it was transfigured, glori- 
fied. Phil. 3 : 21, 1 Cor. 15 : 42-44, 49. 

10. The glorified body will be a spiritual body (1 
Cor. 15 : 44-46), and therefore : a) Without desires, 
Matt. 22 : 30 ; b) Without wants, such as food, drink 
and sleep, 1 Cor. 6 : 13 ; c) Without limitations, as 
Jesus appeared with His resurrection body through 
closed doors among the disciples, John 20 : 19, 26 ; d) 
White and glistering, Matt. 17 : 2, the glorified form 
of Jesus ; e) fitted to behold the presence of God, 1 Cor. 
13 : 12, 1 John 3 : 2 ; /) incorruptible, i. e., never 
aging and wasting away, immortal, 1 Cor. 15 : 53 r 
Luke 20 : 36. 

11. The order in which the resurrection will take 
place is (1 Cor. 15 : 23-26) as follows : 1. The children 
of God which are asleep are raised, and they who are 
yet alive are changed. 2. After that the end, when 
Christ will also raise the wicked, whose bodily resur- 
rection is only a transition to eternal death, i. e., to con- 
demnation and to anguish of body and soul. John 5 : 



•228 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



.28, 29, 1 Cor. 15 : 51, 1 Thess. 4 : 16, 17, Eev. 20 : 
4-6, 12. 

12. The ground upon which we believe in the resur- 
rection of the just and of the unjust is : 

1. The omnipotence of God, Rev. 21 : 5 ; 2. The 
righteousness of God, Acts 17 : 31 ; 3. The truthful- 
ness of God, Dan. 12 : 2. 

13. The aim and purpose of the resurrection of the 
body is the honor and glory of God. Pro v. 16 : 4, 1 
Cor. 15 : 28. 

14. What comfort dost thou then derive from the 
resurrection of the body? That in this life I endure all 
things patiently both in body and soul and long for the 
redemption of my body. Rom. 8 : 18, 23. 

15. When the pious queen consort of the great Elec- 
tor Frederick William of Brandenburg, Louisa Henri- 
etta (both ornaments of the Reformed Church) was 
placed in deepest sorrow through the death of her 
firstborn son, the hereditary prince (1649), she com- 
posed the noblest resurrection hymn contained in the 
.treasury of song of the entire Evangelical church : 

Jesus, my Redeemer, lives, 
And His life I soon shall see ; 
Bright the hope this promise gives ; 
Where He is, 1 too shall be. 
Shall I fear Him ? Can the head 
Rise and leave the members dead ? 

Close to Him my soul is bound, 
In the bonds of hope enclasped ; 
Faith's strong hand this hold hath found, 
And the Rock hath firmly grasped. 
Death shall ne'er my soul remove 
From her refuge in Thy love. 

I shall see Him with these eyes, 
Him whom I shall surely know, 
Not another shall I rise ; 
With His love my heart shall glow ; 
Only there shall disappear 
Weakness in and round me here. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 229 



Ye who suffer, sigh and moan, 
Fresh and glorious there shall reign ; 
Earthly here the seed is sown, 
Heavenly it shall rise again ; 
Natural here the death we die, 
Spiritual our life on high. 

Body, be thou of good cheer, 
In thy Saviour's care rejoice ; 
Give not place to gloom and fear, 
Dead, thou yet shalt know His voice, 
When the final trump is heard, 
And the deaf, cold grave is stirred. 

Laugh to scorn then death and hell, 
Fear no more the gloomy grave ; 
Caught into the air to dwell 
With the Lord who comes to save, 
We shall trample on our foes, 
Mortal weakness, fear and woes. 

Only see ye that your heart 
Rise betimes from earthly lust ; 
Would ye there with Him have part, 
Here obey your Lord and trust. 
Fix your hearts above the skies, 
Whither ye yourselves would rise. 

Question 58. 

What comfort takest thou from the article of " life everlasting ?" 
That since I now feel in my heart the beginning of eternal joy r 
after this life I shall inherit perfect salvation, which " eye hath not 
seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man " 
to conceive ; and that, to praise God therein forever. 

Eternal life in the children of God is unfolded in 
two stages : Here on earth the beginning and fore- 
taste, yonder in eternity the completion and fullness- 
of happiness. 

I. The Beginning of Eternal Joy. 

1. The life of believers is in its widest sense eternal, 
inasmuch as it has its origin in the eternal merciful 
counsel of God and continues unto eternity. The 



230 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



answer of the catechism, however, is formed from the 
standpoint of the temporal realization of God's gracious 
counsel and according to it eternal life takes its begin- 
ning in regeneration. 1 Peter 1 : 3, John 3 : 36, 1 
John 3 : 2. 

2. Here therefore we " feel " in our hearts only the 
beginning or a foretaste of " eternal joy." This feeling 
consists principally in the peace of God. John 14 : 27, 
Rom. 5:1.' 

At times the Lord favors His own with special feel- 
ings of eternal joy, as He did the Apostle Paul. 2 Cor. 
12 : 2-4. He was caught up into Paradise and heard 
unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to 
utter. 

3. Eteral joy can not be complete here, because we 
are still in conflict with temptation, and subject to sin 
and all manner of afflictions and besetments inseparable 
from the bodily life. 1 Cor. 15 : 19, Rom. 8 : 24. 

II. Perfect Salvation. 

A. The nature of perfect salvation. 

1. " After this life we shall inherit perfect salvation." 
Only then will it be our undisturbed possession. Matt. 
25 : 34, 36. They shall go into eternal life. 1 Cor. 
13 : 10, 1 Peter 1 : 7, 8. 

2. Salvation after this life is incomprehensible to us 
now ; neither can it be described. In this life no eye 
hath seen it, nor ear heard it, neither hath it entered 
into the heart of man to conceive. It will be a perfect 
salvation. 

a) In respect to its constitution. For it consists : 1. 
In complete deliverance from all evil of body and soul. 
Rev. 21 : 4. 2. In the complete enjoyment of all good. 
Rev. 21 : 3. 

b) In respect to its effect which will be the complete 
renewal, 1. Of the soul, — understanding (knowledge), 1 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



231 



Cor. 13: 12; feeling, Ps. 16: 11; will, Ps. 110: 3. 
2. Of the body, which in its members will be fully 
fitted for the service of God. Rev. 22 : 3. 

c) In respect to its permanence. It is eternal. Isa. 
35: 10. 

3. Salvation will be the same for all believers ; but 
the glory different. Matt. 20 : 9, 10, 1 Cor. 15 : 41. 

4. But will not eternal salvation be tedious ? By no 
means ; for " eternal joy " will neither weary nor 
satiate. Gazing into the mysteries of the works and 
the ways and the Kingdom of God, as well as blessed 
intercourse with the countless hosts of the children of 
God, will afford the richest diversity of occupation ; and 
the rest of the children of God will not consist in in- 
activity. 

For B. The purpose of salvation is the eternal adora- 
tion of God. The highest and noblest activity for a per- 
son renewed after the image of God. Rev. 7 : 9, 10, 15. 
III. The Comforting Certainty. 

1. The article concerning eternal life is a " comfort " 
only to me when I am certain of this life. The eviden- 
ces of it are : a) Living faith, 1 John 5 : 10, 11 ; b) A 
holy life, 1 John 3 : 3 ; c) Heartfelt longing, Ps. 42 : 2. 

Question 59. 

But what doth it profit thee now that thou believed all this f 
That I am righteous in Christ, before God, and an heir of eternal 
life. 

Having explained the articles of the creed, with 
Question 59, the thought of Question 22 is again taken 
up. Question 21 explains the nature of true faith. 
Question 22 sets forth the contents or object of that 
faith, of which we have a full exposition in Questions 
25-58. And now Questions 59 and 60 treat of the 
benefit, of the fruit or effect of true faith. 



232 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



I. Justification Before God. 

1. " Before God," not before one's self ; for no one 
can be his own judge. Neither before men who have 
no power to pass judgment either unto salvation or con- 
demnation. God alone is the true judge since He alone 
is righteous, holy and omniscient. James 4 : 12. 

2. " In Christ " only then would we be righteous in 
and of ourselves if we had fulfilled the law of God per- 
fectly in our entire life. 1 John 3 : 7, " He that doeth 
righteousness, i. e., fulfills all the demands of the law, 
is righteous." Such is not our condition. But if we 
are ingrafted into Christ by faith and have appro- 
priated His benefits, especially redemption through His 
blood, by faith, then His righteousness is also our right- 
eousness. Phil. 3 : 9. 

3. To be " righteous " before God or to be justified 
does not mean that my sinful life and nature have been 
entirely taken away from me, and that I am now wholly 
pure and sinless in all my thoughts, words and acts, 
but that I who am a sinner, am fully freed and absolved 
by God the judge from all sin and its consequences. 
Eom. 4 : 8 ; 8 : 37. 

II. The Inheritance of Eternal Life. 

1. When a criminal who has been sentenced to death 
is pardoned, his right to life is restored to him. Thus 
there flows from the first benefit of faith, which is 
justification, a second, that I, a pardoned sinner, am 
reinstated into the right to life which was lost through 
sin and am become " an heir of eternal life." 

2. "In Christ." This relation holds with reference 
to the second benefit of faith as well as the first. Being 
ingrafted into Christ by faith, I become a partaker of 
His life as well as of His righteousness. John 6 : 40, 
Eom. 8 : 17, Tit. 3 : 7. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 23S 



Question 60. 

Hoiv art though righteous before Godf 

Only by a true faith in Jesus Christ ; so that, though my con- 
science accuse me that I have grossly transgressed all the commands 
of God, and kept none of them, and am still inclined to all evil ; 
notwithstanding God, without any merit of mine, but only of mere 
grace, grants and imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteous- 
ness and holiness of Christ ; even so, as if I never had had, nor com- 
mitted any sin ; yea, as if I had fully accomplished all that obedi- 
ence which Christ hath accomplished for me ; inasmuch as I em- 
brace such benefit with a believing heart. 

I. The Manner of Justification. 

Justification is a judicial act of God in relation to the 
believing and repentant sinner. (" Only by a true 
faith.") It may be illustrated by the method of pro- 
cedure in an action at court. 

1. The judge is God the Father. Ps. 50: 6, Isa. 1 : 
18. 

2. The accused is the sinner. " Thou art the man !" 
2 Sam. 12 : 7. 

3. The accuser is our own " conscience" (Rom. 2 : 15, 
" their thoughts the meanwhile accusing") when it is 
awakened by the law. John 5 : 45. 

4. The accusation is this : " that I have grossly 
transgressed all the commands of God, and kept none 
of them, and am still inclined to all evil." Rom. 3 : 23, 
James 2 : 10. 

" Still inclined to all evil " has reference to the old 
man, i. e., the corrupt, sinful kind and nature which 
clings to all men, even the regenerate, from Adam, 
Eom. 7 : 14, 21-23. 

(In this passage " law " is equivalent to impulse, 
incitement ; the one tends toward the good, in virtue of 
the inward, i. e., the new, regenerate man or the renewed 
mind ; the other tends toward evil, by reason of sin, i. e. y 
22 



234 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



the sinful nature of the old man, which is still active 
even in the regenerate in this life.) 

5. The witnesses which rise up against sin are the 
broken commandments of God and our own thoughts, 
words and deeds. 

6. At the trial the accused sinner can neither justify 
nor excuse himself. Job 9 : 3. He can only say with 
the publican : " God be merciful to me a sinner." Luke 
18: 13. 

7. According to the righteous judgment of God it 
would be necessary to condemn the sinner to eternal 
death ; for " the soul that sinneth, it shall die." Ezek. 
18 : 20. But the surety appears, Christ the Son of 
God, with His " perfect satisfaction, righteousness and 
holiness." 

(A " surety " is one who goes security for the debt of 
another, so that when the other cannot pay the debt he 
pays it.) 

" The satisfaction of Christ " is His entire redemp- 
tive work by which He has paid as our surety the debt 
we owe and has satisfied the demands of God the 
Father, in that He has kept the law of God perfectly 
and has borne the punishment for our transgressions, 
and thereby made full satisfaction. Rom. 5 : 19, 2 Cor. 
5: 14. 

His " righteousness and holiness " were manifested in 
that, having entered into our sinful flesh, He yet pre- 
served Himself unspotted from sin and fulfilled all 
righteousness. John 8 : 46, 1 Peter 2 : 22-24, Phil. 2 : 
8, John 17 : 19. 

The satisfaction of Christ is " perfect " because it is 
sufficient for the sins of the whole world and it is shared 
alike by all chosen believers. Heb. 10 : 14. 

8. The sentence. Our sinfulness and the vastness of 
our debt excludes all merit on our part and at the same 
time also every ground why God should receive us and 
declare us innocent in the judgment. Such a declara- 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 235 



tion can only be secured " without any merit of mine, but 
only of mere grace," and in consideration of our surety 
who takes our place, points to His merit and appeals to 
the mercy of the Father. Rom. 3 : 24. Thus the sat- 
isfaction of Christ is granted and imputed to me by 
God (my bond is cancelled and its payment put to my 
account and placed to my credit), and indeed so per- 
fectly that God now looks upon me " as if I never had 
had, nor committed any sin ; yea, as if I had fully 
accomplished all that obedience which Christ hath 
accomplished for me." 2 Cor. 5 : 19, 21, Rom. 5 : 20, 
Isa. 1 : 18. 

9. The one who announces the sentence and makes 
it effectual is God the Holy Ghost, who by the word 
assures the heart of the pardoned sinner of his justifica- 
tion and seals it by His testimony that God has become 
our Father instead of being our Judge, and that we 
condemned sinners have become the children of God. 
Rom. 8 : 15, 16. 

II. To Whom Justification is Granted. 

1. God grants the satisfaction of Christ to us of mere 
grace. We receive it and appropriate it by faith. Jus- 
tification is not general, passing upon all sinners, but 
only upon those who believe and repent. Justification 
is accomplished in me only when " I embrace such 
benefit with a believing heart." Rom. 10 : 10 ; 3 : 26, 28. 

2. Faith appropriates the justification granted to it 
in the following manner : 

a) It acknowledges the necessity and completeness of 
the satisfaction of Christ. Acts 4 : 12, Heb. 7 : 25. 

b) It hungers and thirsts after righteousness which 
avails before God. Matt, 5 : 6. 

c) It takes refuge in the satisfaction of Christ. Isa. 
53 : 4, 5. 

d) It rejoices and glories in justification. Rom. 8: 



236 



THE HEIDELBEEG CATECHISM. 



Question 61. 

Why say est thou, that thou art righteous by faith only f 
Not that I am acceptable to God on account of the worthiness of 
my faith: but because only. the satisfaction, righteousness, and holi- 
ness of Christ is my righteousness before God, and that I cannot 
receive and apply the same to myself in any other way than by faith 
only. 

The Scriptures nowhere teach that we are justified on 
account of our faith, but by or through faith, and jus- 
tification by faith excludes all ground for boasting and 
all idea of merit. If the " worthiness " of our faith 
were the cause of our justification, we would have 
ground for boasting, at least -of the dignity or excel- 
lence of our faith. Faith itself, however, is a free gift 
of God's grace, and, therefore, can merit nothing for us. 
Eph. 2 : 8, 9. Therefore it is not of faith in the sense 
of a good work on the part of believers, but in the sense 
of an instrument whereby they lay hold of Christ's 
merits and appropriate them. 

2. A gold ring in which is set a precious stone derives 
its value not from the gold, but from the jewel which it 
contains. In the same way our faith and confidence in 
Christ's merits do not make us righteous on account of 
their worthiness as a good work, but on account of the 
merits of Christ which it embraces as the most precious 
gem. 

3. The satisfaction of Christ is complete. It there- 
fore needs nothing to supplement it and excludes such 
an idea. Therefore it " only " is our righteousness. 1 
Cor. 1 : 30, 31. 

4. Faith is necessary as a means in order that we may 
appropriate the righteousness of Christ, since it 
acknowledges and agrees that only the satisfaction, 
righteousness and holiness of Christ is our righteous- 
ness before God. In so far it is necessary, because it is 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 237 



the only means ordained by God. But in this respect 
it is only like the hand with which a beggar receives a 
piece of bread that is offered to him. The beggar's 
hunger is not satisfied by the hand, but by the bread 
which he takes and puts into his mouth. Rom. 3 ; 22, 
Heb. 11 : 7. It is not to be understood that Abra- 
ham's faith was looked upon as something meritorious, 
for the sake of which he was accounted righteous. Such 
a conception is excluded by the preceding verse (2) and 
the following (4). Rom. 3 : 28. 

5. Examples. The wedding garment. Matt. 22 : 11- 
13. The beggars who are invited accept the garment 
that is given to them and put it on. The guest who 
rejects it is cast out, because without this garment no 
one is permitted to take part in the feast. The lost son. 
Luke 15 : 11-32. That the son in his misery longs for 
his father's house and returns home as he is, is not cred- 
ited to him by his father as a merit, but he receives 
him out of mere grace. 

Question 62. 

But why cannot our good works be the whole or part of our right- 
eousness before Godf 

Because that the righteousness, which can be approved of before 
the tribunal of God, must be absolutely perfect, and in all respects 
conformable to the divine law : and also that our best works in this 
life are all imperfect and denied with sin. 

1. As little as we are justified before God on account 
of our faith, so little also are we justified on account of 
good works which are fruits of faith and which neither 
by themselves nor in connection with faith constitute 
our righteousness. 

2. The idea of righteousness by works springs from 
pride and from an impenitent heart which is not dis- 
posed to humble itself thoroughly and to receive any- 
thing as a reward without personal merit. 



238 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



3. Righteousness by works cannot stand aside of 
righteousness by faith and is impossible in the sight of 
God. For God demands a righteousness " absolutely 
perfect," conformed to His law in the greatest as well 
as in the least. Matt. 22 : 37, 39, Gal. 3 : 10, James 2 : 
10, 11. 

4. Under " good works " and " our best works " are 
here not to be understood the works of the natural, but 
of the regenerate, renewed man. These also cannot 
stand before the demands of the divine law, because 
they are " imperfect," i. e., they do not fully answer 
these demands and are defiled with sin, especially with the 
sin of selfishness. (Compare Peter, " Behold, we have 
forsaken all, and followed thee ; what shall we have 
therefore?" Matt. 19: 27.) Phil. 3': 12, Isa. 64: 6. 

5. The Word of God excludes clear] y and definitely 
all meritoriousness as the entire or partial cause of 
righteousness. Gal. 2 : 16, Pom. 11 : 6, Gal. 2 : 21. 

6. Of ourselves we do not have the power to perform 
good works, and, therefore, in their ultimate ground we 
cannot claim them as our own. John 15 : 5, 1 Cor. 4 : 7. 

7. Paul and James both appeal to the example of 
Abraham, Paul on behalf of faith and James on behalf 
of works, without, however, contradicting each other. 
Paul speaks (Pom. 4) of those who wish to derive their 
justification from good works; James (James 2 : 14- 
26) speaks of professors who say that they have faith, 
but who do not possess that living faith from which 
good works (as its fruit) proceed, without, however, 
becoming meritorious. 

8. Example. The rich young man. Matt. 19 : 16- 
22. With all his keeping of the law, the young man 
lacked the real foundation, faith and love, a new heart, 
from which selfishness has been driven out. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 239 



Question 63 

What ! do not our good works merit, which yet God will reward in 
this and a future lifef 

This reward is not of merit, but of grace. 

Questions 63 and 64 treat of two objections which 
are brought against the doctrine of justification by faith 
only, the one (Question 63) is plainly based upon the 
Scriptures, the other (Question 64) upon experience. 

I. The Promised Reward. 

1. To those who walk in righteousness and holiness 
before God, a reward, a recompense, is promised in 
God's Word. Gen. 15: 1, Matt. 5: 12, 1 Tim. 4 : 8. 

2. The promised reward is prosperity in this life, 
eternal salvation and glory in the future life. Eph. 6 : 
2, 3, 1 Peter 5 : 4. 

II. The Reward Not of Merit. 

1. It is not a reward which God owes to us (Horn. 
11 : 35), neither is there a reward we can demand of 
God ; for 

a) We are under obligation to do good works. Luke 
17: 10. 

b) It is God Himself who works in us, both to will 
and to do good works. Phil. 2 : 13. 

c) God does not stand in need of our good works. 
Acts 17 : 24. 

d) There is no relation between the service rendered 
and the reward bestowed. Matt. 25 : 21. 

2. But those who think that godliness is a profes- 
sion (1 Tim. 6 : 5) in the pursuit of which one may 
earn by good works the reward promised for the pres- 
ent and the future life, are " proud, knowing nothing " 
(verse 4). Luke 13: 25-27. 



240 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



III. The Reward is of Grace. 

1. The day-laborer receives wages for service ren- 
dered, which form a recompense for his labor. The 
wages are therefore regulated according to his work. 
As the labor, so the reward, says the proverb. But it 
is otherwise with the father, who, in order to show his 
love for his child and to bring it joy, rewards it for 
having served him faithfully and for having labored 
out of love to him. In this case the measure of service 
does not determine the measure of the reward. Ps. 
103: 13. 

2. When the wages exceed the value of the work, it 
is grace which is thereby manifested. This is the case 
with the rewards which God gives, and we can, there- 
fore, speak only of a reward of grace. J ohn 4 : 36-38, 
Matt. 20 : 14, 15. The thief on the cross received the 
reward of grace without the least work. Luke 23 : 43. 

3. The Lord promises the reward of grace to His 
-own. 

a) To show that He is pleased with good works. 
Matt. 25: 21; 10: 41,42. 

b) To encourage His own to persevere in the race of 
life and to endure its conflicts and its sufferings. 1 Cor. 
9 : 24, 2 Tim. 2 : 5, Heb. 11 : 26, He v. 2: 10. 

Question 64. 

But doth not this doctrine make men careless and profane? 

By no means : for it is impossible that those who are implanted 
into Christ by a true faith, should not bring forth fruits of thank- 
fulness. 

I. The Objection. 

1. On the part of those who teach justification by 
works (not only in the Romish Church), it is objected 
that if justification were not secured before God by good 
works, and it were possible by faith to become free from 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 241 



sin and its punishment so easily, men would become 
" careless and profane," i. e., they would rest in a state 
of false security and presumption. 

2. It cannot be denied that there may be and that 
there are among us, people who turn the grace of God 
into lasciviousness. Of this, however, the doctrine is 
not the cause. The ground thereof is to be found in 
the fact that such persons do not have true and living 
faith. 

3. The same plea was already made to the Apostle 
Paul and refuted by him. Rom. 3 : 8, 31 ; 6 : 1, 2. 

There were also persons in the Apostolic churches 
who sought to abuse this doctrine. Jude v. 4. 

II. The Defence. 

1. It is impossible that the doctrine of justification 
by faith should have a tendency to make men wicked. 
For those who are justified by "true faith" are "in- 
grafted into Christ," and thereby become partakers of 
His spirit and life, the spirit of sanctifieation and a 
sanctified life. Gal. 5 : 24, 1 John 3 : 9, Matt. 7 : 18. 

2. As good fruit is the necessary product of a good 
tree, so from justification by faith there necessarily pro- 
ceed good works, as " fruits of thankfulness." We, 
therefore, do not in the least repudiate good works, but 
only their meritoriousness, and that upon the basis of 
the Scriptures. It is also evident that only those 
" good works " have a moral value in the sight of God 
which proceed from love to Him and from thankful- 
ness for the justification freely offered and embraced by 
faith, over against " good works," performed to gain the 
favor of God, from mercenary motives, and, therefore, 
in reality from selfishness. John 15 : 5, 8, 2 Cor. 5 : 
14, 15, Tit. 3 : 7, 8. 



242 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



OF THE HOLY SACRAMENTS. 
Question 65. 

Since then we are made partakers of Christ, and all his benefits, by 
faith only, whence doth this faith proceed f 

From the Holy Ghost, who works faith in our hearts by the 
preaching of the Gospel, and confirms it by the use of the sacra- 
ments. 

The Holy Ghost is the author of faith in the heart 
and uses as its means for this purpose, 1. The Word of 
God, and 2. The Holy Sacraments. The doctrine of 
the Sacraments is, therefore, closely joined to the third 
part of the Apostles' Creed. Since faith is produced by 
the Word and confirmed by the Sacraments, and these 
are also the means through which the Holy Ghost 
assures and seals His grace to us, they are called the 
means of grace. In them we have both the communi- 
cation (the Holy Scriptures) and the seal (the Holy 
Sacraments) of the grace of God in Christ Jesus. 

I. The Operation of the Holy Ghost Through the Word. 

1. By the Gospel is to be understood the main con- 
tents of the entire Word of God (the canonical Scrip- 
tures). Compare Question 19. 

2. God can also, when it is His desire, produce faith 
in an extraordinary manner without the Word, as, e. g. y 
in the case of the wise men from the East. Matt. 2 : 2. 
But according to the divine order the ordinary means 
of awakening faith is the preaching of the Word. 1 
Cor. 1 : 21, Bom. 10 : 17. 

3. The trustworthiness of the Holy Scriptures as the 
Word of God rests upon the following grounds : 

a) It contains the revelation of the greatest mysteries 
(the Being of God, the Incarnation of the Son of God 
and our Redemption, Eternal Salvation, etc.), and its 



THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 243 



authors were for the most part unlearned men. Ps. 87 : 
3, Acts 4 : 13. 

b) The harmony of its contents, although the several 
books were composed by different men and at different 
times. 

c) The fulfillment of its prophecies. 

d) The miracles performed by the holy men who- 
were its authors. 

e) The effects of the Holy Scriptures upon individual 
souls, as well as in the general extension of the king- 
dom of God. 

f) But above all, the testimony of the Holy Ghost in 
the hearts of believers. Rom. 1 : 16. 

4. The Word of God is used when it is heard and 
read. To its right use belong both the hearing and the 
reading of it. 

a) Not out of curiosity, but from a desire for salva- 
tion. 1 Peter 2:2. 

b) With prayer for the illumination of the Holy 
Ghost. Ps. 119 : 18. 

c) With reverence for Almighty God, who speaks to 
us through it. Ex. 3 : 5. 

d) By attentive search into the meaning of the Word. 
Acts 17 : 11. 

e) Diligently and perseveringly. Col. 3 : 16. 

/) That it be kept and pondered also after the hear- 
ing and reading of it. Luke 2 : 19 ; 11 : 28. 

g) By applying it to one's own heart and life. Ps. 
119 : 105, James 1 : 22-24. 

5. As by the rays of the same sun wax is softened 
and clay is hardened, so the Word of God has a 
different effect upon the elect and the lost. Acts 2 : 
37 ; 7 : 54, 1 Cor. 1 : 18, Acts 13 : 48, Mark 4 : 11, 12. 

6. The Holy Ghost works faith in the elect, not in a 
magical or forcible manner, but a) by illuminating our 
minds and convincing us of the divine truth concerning 



"244 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



our misery and our salvation in Christ only, and b) 
by inclining our wills and prevailing upon us to put 
confidence in it. Heb. 4: 12, Jer. 23 : 29, John 6 : 37, 
44, Acts 16 : 14. 

II. The Operation of the Holy Ghost Through the Sacraments. 

1. Sacrament is not a Scriptural expression. The 
word is derived from the Latin, and among the Romans 
it meant the military oath which the soldiers took in 
allegiance to the Emperor. In the old Latin transla- 
tions of the Bible it was used to render the Greek word 
" mysterium," i. e., a mystery, or something that is 
consecrated. Mysterium signified among the Greeks 
also, either something secret or the mysterious sign of a 
secret, or something that had a mysterious signification 
w T hich was known only to the initiated. 

2. The Holy Ghost makes use of both Word and Sac- 
raments, the former to work faith in our hearts, the lat- 
ter to confirm faith in our hearts, i. e., to strengthen and 
to establish it ; the former by hearing, the latter by 
seeing and feeling. The Church father Augustine calls 
the Sacrament " the visible Word." Calvin says : " It 
is certain that the Sacraments have no other purpose 
than to offer and to represent Christ to us and in Him 
the treasures of heavenly grace.'' 

Rom. 4 : 11, " He received the sign of circumcision, 
-a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet 
being uncircumcised. . Circumcision was a confir- 
mation of his faith by which he had already become a 
partaker of righteousness. Acts 8 : 36-38, " and the 
eunuch said, See, here is water ; what doth hinder me to 
be baptized ? And Philip said, if thou believest with 
all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and 
said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 
And he commanded the chariot to stand still : and they 
went down both into the water, both Philip and the 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 245 



eunuch ; and he baptized him." Philip did not, therefore, 
baptize the eunuch that he might be saved through bap- 
tism, but that this should be to him a confirmation of 
the faith by which he had already embraced and appro- 
priated the salvation which had been promised for 
Christ's sake. 

Question 66. 

What are the sacraments f 

The sacraments are holy visible signs and seals, appointed of God 
for this end, that by the use thereof he may the more fully declare 
and seal to us the promise of the gospel, viz., that he grants us freely 
the remission of sin, and life eternal, for the sake of that one sacrifice 
of Christ, accomplished on the cross. 

I. What Belongs to the Sacrament. 

1. In this connection we are not only to consider the 
sacraments of the new, but also those of the old cove- 
nant, since in the New Testament reference is made to 
them. Rom. 4 : 11,1 Cor. 5 : 7. 

2. To a sacrament belong, a) the visible, material 
sign and seal, b) the institution by God, or by Christ, 
c) the invisible heavenly grace which the signs and 
seals signify and assure to us. 

3. The visible sign must be related to the invisible 
grace to the extent that there be a similarity between 
the two. Circumcision related to the destiny of the 
race descended from Abraham as a covenant people 
dedicated unto the Lord (Gen. 17 : 1-11) ; the passover 
indicated God's forbearance which the blood of the lamb 
upon the doorposts at their departure from Egypt made 
manifest (Ex. 12 : 13), and the social community which 
had arisen through God's leadership and which found 
expression in the common meal. Ex. 12 : 4, 6. Water 
as the ordinary means of purification points in baptism 
to the purification from sin (Acts 22 : 16) ; the break- 
ing of the bread and the pouring out of the wine into 



246 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



the cup, to the violent death of Christ upon the cross 
and to the shedding of His blood. 1 Cor. 11 : 24, Matt. 
20 : 28. The Church fathers call the sacrament " the 
visible sign of invisible grace." 

4. " Visible signs and seals." They represent and con- 
firm to the eye in a sensible and perceptible way what 
we perceive by the ear, through the word, the promise 
of the Gospel. 

5. They are called " holy," a) because they are given 
to us by the holy God and represent the most holy 
mysteries of faith ; b) because they are destined for 
holy purposes and must be used with holy reverence. 
That is holy which is set apart from its ordinary use 
and is devoted to the service of God. Ex. 29 : 33. 

6. "Appointed of God." For no one has power to 
appoint signs and seals for the promises of God but He 
Himself (God or Christ), who has given these promises. 
Ps. Ill : 4, Acts 7 : 8, Ex. 12 : 27, Matt. 28 : 18, 19, 
1 Cor. 11: 23. 

7. The invisible, heavenly grace of the sacraments is 
" remission of sin and life eternal " which God " grants 
us freely, for the sake of that one sacrifice of Christ, 
accomplished on the cross." 

n. The Purpose of the Sacraments. 

1. The purpose of the sacraments is the confirmation 
(establishing) of faith through the memorial of Christ's 
sacrifice accomplished on the cross and the assurance of 
the fruit of this sacrifice, the forgiveness of sins and eter- 
nal life, through faith. The Holy Ghost works, there- 
fore, through the sacraments only in those who believe. 
Faith does not constitute the sacrament, but belongs to 
it, and it is strengthened by the same. Mark 16: 16, 
Ex. 12 : 43. 

2. The sacraments as signs are to make more com- 
prehensible to us and as seals are to confirm, i. e., 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 247 



strengthen the promise of the Gospel, viz., that God, 
for the sake of the one sacrifice of Christ accomplished 
on the cross, freely grants to us forgiveness of sins and 
eternal life. They are therefore not mere signs, but at 
the same time seals and pledges. Gen. 17 : 11, Rom. 
4 : 11, Ex. 13 : 9, 1 Cor. 11 : 24, 25. As Christ con- 
nected the institution of the Lord's Supper with the last 
Passover, He manifestly had in mind when He used 
the words " memorial," " remembrance," the word of 
the unleavened bread. 

3. Sacraments are signs of the covenant and there is 
attached to them a reciprocal obligation. God obli- 
gates Himself in them to forgive us our sins and to 
grant us eternal life ; we in return obligate ourselves to 
believe in Christ and to walk in the new life. 1 John 
1 : 7, 2 Tim. 2 : 19. 

4. The sacraments are not offerings. 

In like manner they are not " ecclesiastical acts," but 
" divine acts," for the one who acts is alone the Holy 
Ghost, in comparison with which the outer service in 
the use of the sacraments recedes as something of sec- 
ondary importance. 

5. The sacraments fulfill their purpose only " by the 
use thereof " (in that they are used) ; they have accord- 
ingly as signs and seals significance only for and dur- 
ing their use. 

The administration of the sacraments belongs only to 
the ordained ministers of the Word, upon whose personal 
worthiness or unworthiness the efficacy of the sacra- 
ments is not dependent. 1 Cor. 4 : 1, 4. A case of 
necessity which might demand a departure from this 
order does not occur. For, as Augustine says, not the 
privation, but contempt for the sacraments condemns. 
Luke 7 : 30. The Reformed Church, therefore, rejects 
also so-called private or hasty baptism through mid- 
wives or other persons ; also in principle private com- 



248 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



munion and grants such only when with the sick oth- 
ers also partake of the supper, thereby making it a real 
" communion " (mutual participation). 

Question 67. 

Are both word and sacraments then ordained and appointed for 
this end, that they may direct our faith to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, 
on the cross, as the only ground for our salvation f 

Yes, indeed ; for the Holy Ghost teaches us, in the Gospel, and 
assures us by the sacraments, that the whole of our salvation depends 
upon that one sacrifice of Christ, which he offered for us on the 
cross. 

1. As little as the mere hearing of the Word of God, 
so little does the mere use of the sacraments effect sal- 
vation. This rests alone upon the sacrifice of Christ, 
accomplished for us on the cross, to which both word 
and sacrament point, and which we must lay hold of 
by faith. Rom. 2 : 25, " For circumcision verily profit- 
eth, if thou keep the law : but if thou be a breaker of 
the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision." So 
baptism also does not benefit without faith. Mark 16 : 
16, " He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." 
Judas, Simon Magus, Ananias and Sapphira, Demas and 
others were also baptized and yet were lost. 1 Cor. 11 : 
20, 30. 

2. Both Word and Sacrament point to one and the 
same thing, to the sacrifice of Christ accomplished for 
us which is the only ground of our salvation. 1 Cor. 3 : 
11. 

a) The star and the kernel of the entire Word of 
God, the gospel in the old and new covenant, is the 
announcement of redemption through the sacrifice of 
Christ, as it is promised and typified in the old cove- 
nant and fulfilled in the new. 1 Cor. 1 : 23. 

b) The idea of the sacraments in the old and the new 
covenant is nothing other than to represent the sacrifice 
of Christ before the eyes and to impress it upon the 
heart. Rom. 6 : 3, 1 Cor. 11 : 26. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 249 



3. The difference between Word and Sacrament con- 
sists only in the manner in which they point to the 
sacrifice of Christ and the way in which the Holy 
Ghost operates through them (to awaken and to con- 
firm faith). 

4. With reference to the meaning of the sacraments 
two errors are to be avoided : one must not see in them 
too much nor too little. The signs must not be con- 
fused with the things signified ; on the other hand, the 
sacraments must not be taken as mere empty signs and 
ceremonies. 

Question 68 

How many sacraments has Christ instituted in the neiv covenant or 
testament f 

Two : Holy Baptism, and the Holy Supper. 

1. Tn the Old Testament there are various types 
which are applied to the sacraments of the New Testa- 
ment, e. g., the pillar of cloud and the passage through 
the Red Sea, the manna and the water out of the rock. 
1 Cor. 10 : 1-4. Christ in this passage is called the 
"rock," but as the " spiritual" in distinction from the 
natural rock from which the water flowed. 

2. The old covenant, like the new, had only two 
sacraments : circumcision and the passover, for only 
these two were permanent institutions for the ancient 
covenant people. The so-called Old Testament sacra- 
ments, named above, were of a temporary character. 

a) Circumcision not only constituted reception into 
the covenant of God, but it also pointed to the purifi- 
cation of the heart, regeneration ; it took place, there- 
fore, only once. Gen. 17 : 7-14, Deut. 30 : 6. 

b) The passover, which was killed and eaten, was 
the sacrament of redemption through the blood of the 
lamb of God and the continued renewal of the cov- 

23 



250 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



enant. Therefore it was repeated every year. Ex. 12 : 
13, 2,5-27. 

3. To the two sacraments of the old covenant corre- 
spond the two of the new : to circumcision, holy bap- 
tism ; to the passover, the holy communion. 

a) Baptism is the seal (sacrament) of our regenera- 
tion and the reception into the covenant of God ; there- 
fore it is performed only once. Col. 2 : 11-13. 

b) The Lord's Supper is the seal (sacrament) of the 
nourishing of the new man, his growth in faith and 
the continued renewal of the covenant. Wherefore it 
is often repeated. 1 Cor. 5 : 7. 

4. In the new covenant Christ instituted only two 
sacraments, holy baptism and the holy communion, as 
the ancient Church also knew and used only these two. 
They alone fulfill the conception of a sacrament. Be- 
ing instituted by Christ, the institution receives its 
validity from God. As is His word, so also are His 
acts, the Father's. John 12 : 49. 

5. Christ instituted the sacraments at the close of 
His redemptive work : the holy supper when He was 
about to enter upon death and to offer Himself as a 
sacrifice '(" this is my body, which is broken ; my blood, 
which is shed"), and holy baptism when he was about 
to enter heaven and assume the rule of His kingdom 
(" disciple all nations"). 

6. The Roman Catholic Church accepts seven sacra- 
ments. Besides baptism and the Lord's Supper, they 
accept confirmation, penance, marriage, priestly conse- 
cration and extreme unction. These five ecclesiastical 
acts, which in early Christianity were not considered 
sacraments, do not fulfill the conception of a sacrament 
in all respects, as this is set forth in the Scriptures. 

Confirmation, priestly consecration and extreme 
unction lack institution by Christ. Marriage and pen- 
ance are indeed divine ordinances, but the visible sign 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



251 



is lacking. Besides, marriage and priestly consecra- 
tion fall short of the true idea of a sacrament, because 
priests are not allowed to marry, and yet sacraments 
are to be for the benefit of all believers. Extreme unc- 
tion is administered only in anticipation of death, 
while the passages, Mark 6 : 13 and James 5 : 14, 
which are quoted in support of it, promise the restora- 
tion (v. 15) of the sick. 



OF HOLY BAPTISM. 
Question 69. 

How art thou reminded and assured by holy baptism that the one 
sacrifice upon the cross is of real advantage to thee f 

Thus, that Christ appointed this external washing with water, 
adding thereunto this promise that I am as certainly washed, by his 
blood and Spirit, from all the pollution of my soul, that is, from all 
my sins, as I am washed externally with water, by which the filthi- 
ness of the body is commonly washed away. 

1. Washings, as well as sprinkling with water or 
blood, were appointed in the law under the old cov- 
enant as symbolical acts of purification and consecra- 
tion ; e. g., with water, Ex. 29 : 4 ; the water of sprink- 
ling in connection with the sacrifice noted in Num. 19 ; 
with blood, Ex. 29 : 21 ; Lev. 14 : 7, for the cleans- 
ing of the lepers ; with blood and water, Heb. 9 : 19- 
22. Under the figure of sprinkling, the prophets 
announced that God Himself in the time to come would 
spiritually renew and cleanse both Jews (Ezek. 36 : 25- 
27) ; and Gentiles (Isa, 52 : 15). Compare Heb. 12 : 24. 

2. The baptism of John the Baptist preceded Chris- 
tian baptism. Jesus Himself was baptized by John, in 
accordance with the order established by God. Matt. 
3 : 15. Jesus submitted to the baptism of repentance, 
not because He had any sins of His own to confess, but 



252 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



because upon Him as the Son of man and the Lamb of 
God were laid the sins of the world. After His public 
appearance the disciples of Jesus also baptized ; Jesus 
Himself did not baptize. John 3 : 22, 23 ; 4 : 1, 2. 
Baptism was the sign of admission to discipleship. The 
baptism of John and of the disciples of Jesus, both as 
to its outward sign and seal, and as to its contents, was 
like our baptism, with this exception, that the sacrifice 
of Christ upon the ground of which forgiveness took 
place, was yet in the future. Matt. 3 : 11. The " dis- 
ciples" at Ephesus who had believed on Christ, but had 
only received the baptism of John, after having been 
instructed by Paul, were baptized in the name of the 
Lord Jesus. Acts 19 : 1-7. 

3. Christ instituted holy baptism as the sacrament of 
the new covenant. Matt. 28 : 19. 

4. " This external washing with water." Originally 
baptism was more generally performed by immersing 
the candidate three times in water, which was to sig- 
nify that the old man had been given over to death 
and that a new man was to come forth. Rom. 6 : 3, 4, 
Col. 2 : 12, Eph. 5 : 26. The words " taufen" (bap- 
tize) from tauchen and " taufe" (baptism) point to the 
practice of immersion. Without a doubt baptism was 
administered already in the times of the apostles by 
pouring or sprinkling water upon the head, in cases of 
sickness, and in times and places of persecution, where 
baptism had to be performed in the houses. This may 
also be taken for granted in the baptism of the centu- 
rion, Cornelius, and his house (Acts 10 : 47, 48), and 
of the jailer at Philippi and his household in his 
home in the prison (Acts 16 : 33). The Greek Church 
still holds to immersion as essential in baptism, while 
in the western Churches, since the close of the thir- 
teenth century, the sprinkling of the person to be bap- 
tized with water has generally taken the place of 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 253 



immersion. The sprinkling of the head with water is 
suggestive of the complete immersion of the head. 
The apostles speak of a sprinkling with the blood of 
Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1 : 2, Heb. 10 : 22 ; 12 : 24. 
Among us baptism is performed by thrice sprinkling 
with water the forehead of the one to be baptized while 
pronouncing the words : " I baptize thee in the (upon 
the) name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy 
Ghost. Amen." 

Calvin. " Whether one be entirely immersed in bap- 
tism, whether it be three times or once, or be only 
sprinkled with water, is not of importance, but must 
be left to the option of the Churches, to be decided by 
climatic conditions, although according to common 
acceptance the word " taufen" (to baptize) signifies to 
immerse, and the ancient Church practiced this mode 
of baptism." 

5. By holy baptism as a sign I am " reminded" and 
as a seal " assured" that I am as certainly washed, by 
His blood and spirit, from all the pollution of my soul, 
that is, from all my sins, as I am washed externally 
with water ; that, therefore, the one sacrifice of Christ 
is of advantage to me. 

A distinction is made between the outward transac- 
tion, the purification of the body and the inner puri- 
fication of the soul ; the visible is intended to assure us 
of the invisible. The language is not simply : " as 

so," but " as certainly as so certainly 

also." By the water the filthiness of the body is 
washed away. This cannot be denied. Just as little 
can it be denied that for the believer the soul is puri- 
fied from sin through the blood and Spirit of Christ. 
Isa. 64 : 6, Tit. 3:5. 



254 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



Question 70. 

What is it to be washed with the blood and Spirit of Christ t 

It is to receive of God remission of sins, freely, for the sake of 
Christ's blood, which he shed for us in his sacrifice upon the cross ; 
and also, to be renewed by the Holy Ghost, and sanctified to be 
members of Christ, that so we may more and more die unto sin and 
lead holy and unblamable lives. 

I. The Washing With the Blood of Christ. 

1. We are washed with the blood of Christ, and are 
thereby assured that the blood of Christ is of real 
advantage to us. It secures to us 

a) " Remission of sins." Acts 2 : 38. 

b) " Of God freely." Tit. 3 : 5-7. 

c) " For the sake of Christ's blood, which He shed 
for us in His sacrifice upon the cross." Rev. 1 : 5. 

2. We are thereby assured of all that Christ has 
accomplished for us by His sacrifice. 

II. The Washing by the Spirit of Christ. 

1. We are washed by the Spirit of Christ, and are 
thereby assured that the Holy Ghost is operative in us. 
We are thus 

a) " Eenewed by the Holy Ghost." John 3 : 5, 
2 Cor. 5:17. 

b) " Sanctified to be members of Christ," and conse- 
quently baptism seals our reception into the Church, 
which is the body of Christ. Eph. 1 : 23, 1 Cor. 12 : 13. 

c) " That so we may more and more die unto sin 
and lead holy and unblamable lives." This is the 
obligation which holy baptism lavs upon us. Gal. 3 : 
27, Col. 2 : 6, Eom. 6 : 4. 

" More and more." Baptism does not give us the 
assurance that we are already complete Christians, but 
obligates and incites us to growth in sanctification. 
Eph. 4: 15. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 255 



2. Thus we are assured that Christ works in us by 
His Spirit. 

III. Two Benefits of Christ. 

There are two benefits of Christ, the possession of 
which is sealed to us in holy baptism : Regeneration 
and sanctification, which consist in the dying off of the 
old and the resurrection of the new man. 1 Cor. 
6 : 11. Paul explains here what it means to be 
"washed," viz., first, to be justified for the sake of the 
Lord Jesus, i. e., for the sake of His merit and the 
shedding of His blood, and secondly, to be sanctified by 
the Spirit of God. 

1. The blood of Christ justifies and the Spirit of 
Christ sanctifies, i. e., 

a) The blood takes away the guilt and punishment 
of sin, the Spirit the power of sin. 

b) The blood secures the righteousness which avails 
before God, the Spirit produces the image of God in us. 

Question 71. 

Where has Christ promised us that he will as certainly wash us by 
his blood and Spirit, as we are washed with the water of baptism f 

In the institution of baptism, which is thus expressed : Go ye 
therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 

He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved ; but he that 
believeth not, shall be damned. 

This promise is also repeated, where the Scripture calls baptism 
the washing of regeneration and the washing away of sins. 

I. The Baptismal Command. 

1. The institution of baptism lies in the command 
which Jesus gave at the time of His ascension for the 
extension of His kingdom. This command, exactly 
translated, is as follows : " Go ye and make disciples 
of all nations, in that ye baptize them upon the name 
of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Ghost, and 



256 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



teach them to observe all things that I have com- 
manded you." Matt. 28 : 19, 20. 

2. While the sacrament of circumcision set forth 
and sealed reception into God's covenant with Israel, 
for the new covenant in Christ this limitation falls 
away and the citizens of the kingdom of God as disci- 
ples of Jesus are gathered out of all nations. Acts 10 : 
34, 35. 

3. As a matter of course in the ease of unbaptized 
adults, instruction as tc the nature of the ordinance 
must precede baptism ; but according to the exact 
translation the words of institution cannot be used by 
the Baptists against infant baptism. They generally 
appeal to the words thus expressed (in Luther's trans- 
lation) : Go ye, therefore, and (first) teach all nations, 
and (then) baptize them. Baptism is performed " in 
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
Holy Ghost," i. e., of the Triune God. The sacra- 
ment is not merely administered " in the name" or by 
the command of God, but also upon or " into His 
name." We are, as it were, inwardly immersed into 
the name of God, i. e., ingrafted into His communion, 
as we are outwardly immersed in water. Num. 6 : 27, 
Jer. 15 : 16. 

5. Baptism is then properly administered when it is 
performed by means of sprinkling with pure water, and 
by the use of the words of institution : " I baptize thee 
in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy 
Ghost," and by the ordained minister of the Church. 

yi^Tlie! Promise of Baptism. 

1. The promise reads : " He that believeth and is 
baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not, 
shall be damned." Mark 16 : 16. The promise of sal- 
vation, which is joined to the sacrament, avails only 
for believers. For he that believeth not, shall be 
damned — although he is baptized. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 257 



.2. The Triune God gives to the one who believes, 
the assurance that He is His covenant God. God the 
Father gives him the promise that He has accepted 
him as His child ; God the Son, that He has imparted 
to him His merit ; God the Holy Ghost, that He sanc- 
tifies him and preserves him unto eternal life. 

3. The promise made by Christ at the institution of 
baptism is " repeated" where Christ calls baptism " the 
washing ' of regeneration, and the washing away of 
sins." These expressions are, however, to be inter- 
preted in harmony with Christ's words of institution. 
Tit. 3 : 5 (compare John 3 : 5, 6), Acts 22 : 16. 

Question 72. 

Is then the external baptism with water the washing away of sin 
itself? 

Not at all: for the blood of Jesus Christ only, and the Holy- 
Ghost, cleanse us from all sin. 

1. The Scriptures nowhere say that the power and 
efficacy of baptism reside in the water, and in 1 Peter 
3 : 21, where the water of baptism is directly spoken 
of, it is characterized as a " covenant of a good con- 
science with God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ." 

2. A material substance cannot effect anything spir- 
itual and heavenly. 

3. The ^Ethiopian eunuch, the centurion Cornelius, 
Lydia and the jailer at Phillippi had saving faith 
before they were baptized with water. If the water 
were the efficient agent, then all baptized persons, even 
the wicked, would be saved. 

5. The Scriptures expressly declare that only the 
blood of Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost cleanse us 
from all sin. 1 John 1 : 7, 1 Cor. 6 : 11, Eph. 5 : 26, 
John 19 : 34. Under the old covenant the deliverance 
from sin was accomplished by blood and purification 



258 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



by water. Both, however, were a type of the real 
deliverance from sin by the blood of Christ, and of the 
real purification by His Spirit, who was promised under 
the figure of pure water. Ezek. 36 : 25, John 7 : 38 r 
39, 1 John 5 : 6. 

Question 73. 

Why then doth the Holy Ghost call baptism the washing of regen- 
eration and the washing away of sins t 

God speaks thus not without great cause, to wit : not only thereby 
to teach us, that as the filth of the body is purged away by water, so 
our sins are removed by the blood and Spirit of Jesus Christ : but 
especially, that by this divine pledge and sign he may assure us that 
we are spiritually cleansed from our sins, as really as we are exter- 
nally washed with water. 

1. When baptism is spoken of in the Scriptures as 
the washing of regeneration, and the washing away of 
sins, it is done for two important reasons, viz., that God 
may teach us by a symbol, by the outward, visible ele- 
ment of water what takes place in the soul, and that in 
the water He might give us a " holy sign and seal" 
that this inward, invisible process of purification from 
sin will be effectually accomplished in us. The state- 
ment is, therefore, not simply : " as water — so the blood 
and Spirit of Christ," but " that I am as certainly 
washed, by His blood and Spirit — as I am washed 
externally with water." Rev. 1 : 5 ; 7 : 14. 

2. It might be said that one who has been condemned 
to lifelong imprisonment, obtains his freedom by tho 
proclamation of pardon bearing the king's seal. And 
yet it is not the letter and the seal, but in reality the 
gracious will and command of the King which effect 
the deliverance. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 259> 



Question 74. 

Are infants also to be baptized f 

Yes : for since they, as well as the adult, are included in the 
Covenant and Church of God; and since redemption from sin by 
the blood of Christ and the Holy Ghost, the Author of faith, is 
promised to them no less than to the adult ; they must therefore, by 
baptism, as a sign of the covenant, be also incorporated into the Chris- 
tian Church ; and be distinguished from the children of infidels,, 
as was done in the Old Covenant or Testament by circumcision, 
instead of which baptism was instituted in the New Covenant. 

1. Objection has been brought against infant bap- 
tism on the ground that it is not commanded in the 
Scripture, which nowhere states expressly that chil- 
dren also were baptized. In addition to the fact that 
there is nowhere a command that only men and women 
should be baptized, and that young children should be 
excluded from baptism, Christ gave command to bap- 
tize the nations, and the Apostles baptized entire fami- 
lies, because persons of all ages are to be consecrated to 
the Lord in His Church. It would indeed be strange 
that just in the families, whose baptism (" all his," 
Acts 'lO : 44, 47, 48 ; 16 : 33 ; " the house," i. e., the 
family, Acts 16 : 15; 1 Cor. 1 : 16 — not " domestic ser- 
vants," but according to an exact rendering " house," 
as in Acts 16 : 15) is mentioned, there should have 
been no young children. Besides, infant baptism is 
mentioned by the Church fathers already in the second 
century. 

2. Another objection urged is, that as the sacrament 
is to be a visible sign and seal for us, we, who are bap- 
tized in childhood, did not see and understand the 
same. To this it may be replied : That the fact of our 
baptism is attested by the sponsors, or witnesses, of the 
baptism and by the baptismal certificate. Besides we 
see when baptisms are administered, according to true 
Reformed usage in the church before the assembled 



260 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



congregation, what took place when we were baptized, 
and are thereby ever reminded anew what significance 
baptism has for us. 

3. But there are positive grounds why young chil- 
dren of Christian parents should be baptized. 

a) " Since they, as well as the adult, are included in 
the covenant and Church of God." Gen. 17 : 7. But 
of the seed of Abraham are not only his bodily 
descendants, but all those who are of the faith of Abra- 
ham. Rom. 4 : 6, 1 Cor. 7 : 14. Your children are 
holy. Not that they are without original sin, but that 
they belong to the covenant and Church of God. 

b) Since redemption from sin by the blood of Christ 
and the Holy Ghost, the Author of faith, is promised 
to them no less than to the adult/' Mark 10 : 14-16, 
Acts 2 : 38, 39. 

c) " Since they are, by baptism, as a sign of the 
covenant, incorporated into the Christian Church; 
and are distinguished from the children of infidels, as 
was done in the Old Covenant or Testament by cir- 
cumcision, instead of which baptism was instituted in the 
New Covenant." Gen. 17 : 11, 12. If children were 
not received into the Church under the New Covenant, 
their position would be inferior to that under the Old 
Covenant. In this respect the New Covenant is greater 
than the Old, since now children of both sexes, by 
receiving the sign of the covenant, are received into 
the same. Col. 2 : 11, 12. According to this passage, 
baptism has taken for us the place of circumcision in 
the Old Covenant. 

4. Only the young children of Christian parents (of 
believers) are allowed to be baptized, with reference to 
whom one may be confident that they will in the future 
be instructed in the truth of the Gospel at home, or in 
the school and church. Young children of Jews and 
heathen are only to be baptized when the parents are 
received into the Church at the same time with them. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 261 



5. The same obligation accompanies the baptism of 
children, as the baptism of adults, viz., to renounce the 
devil and all his works, and to live a holy life to the 
love and praise of God. Exorcism, i. e. y the expulsion 
of the devil from the one receiving baptism, is rejected 
by the Reformed Church as altogether unbiblical. 
1 Cor. 7 : 14. 

6. The practice of having sponsors is not found in 
those Reformed churches in which baptism is, without 
exception, administered in connection with divine wor- 
ship. In the Directory of Worship of the Electoral 
Palatinate, issued in 1563, the question to the sponsors 
reads as follows : " Do you from a true faith in the 
promise of God in Christ Jesus, which is given to us 
and to our children, that He will be not only our God, 
but also our children's God to the most distant genera- 
tion, desire that this child be baptized in this faith and 
receive the seal of divine sonship ?" Answer : " Yes." 
The sponsors are not to be regarded as the representa- 
tives of the one receiving baptism, since no one can 
believe, confess or obligate himself for another, but they 
are principally witnesses that the child at such a time 
received baptism, and they obligate themselves next to 
the parents to care for its religious instruction. 

7. With reference to the baptismal act, the Electoral 
Palatinate Directory of Worship proceeds to say (after 
the above answer of the sponsors has been given) : 
" Here it is unnecessary to disrobe the child. It is 
sufficient that its head be uncovered. And then the 
minister will say : ■ N. I baptize thee in the name of 
God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. 
Amen.' " 

8. The admission or confirmation. 

a) The Romish sacrament of confirmation (confirma- 
tio) was abolished by the Reformation, and the youth 
of proper age, if found prepared after receiving the cus- 



262 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



tomkry instruction, were admitted to the table of the 
Lord. In the first half of the seventeenth century the 
rite of confirmation was introduced, but only in the 
middle of the century did it find general acceptance, 
and that at first in the Lutheran Church. In connec- 
tion with the public service, the children, after the 
confession of their faith, were received by prayer and 
the laying on of hands into full membership of the 
Church and were admitted to the Lord's Supper. In 
harmony with this significance of the act it is called in 
the Reformed Church of Switzerland, admission, i. e., 
admittance, which designation from the Reformed 
standpoint must be regarded as more correct than con- 
firmation. The Electoral Palatinate Directory of Wor- 
ship of 1563 only asks that children be instructed in 
the catechism with reference to their baptism, true 
Christian faith and repentance, so that, before they are 
admitted to the table of the Lord, they may confess 
their faith before the whole Christian congregation. 
The Directory of Worship of a'Lasco and Micronius of 
the year 1554 contains a like direction. Only the 
revised editions of 1684 and 1724 provide a formula 
or " form as to how children are received into the church 
when they confess their faith and are admitted for the 
first time to the Lord's table." According to this also 
it is not confirmation, but admission. The Hessian 
Church Directory of 1574 designates Christmas, Easter 
and Whit-Sunday as "confirmation" days for children 
whose names had been sent in four weeks previously. 
It also contains a formula for this purpose. In the 
oldest Reformed Directory of Lippe (Christian Church 
prayers and acts, 1686) the rubric reads : " Presenta- 
tion and confirmation of the catechumens, who for the 
first time are admitted to the use of the holy supper." 
In the Palatinate the customary expression for the act 
of confirmation is to-day yet : " The children will be 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



263 



presented." Among the Reformed Confessions only 
the latest, the " declaration of Thorn" of 1645, refers 
to confirmation as an established custom. It says : We 
believe that it is proper to approve of the reference of 
the doctrine of the laying on of hands which, in'Heb. 
6 : 12, is connected with the doctrine of baptism, to the 
practice of the Church, according to which the children, 
who have been instructed in the truths of the cate- 
chism before they are admitted to a participation in the 
Lord's Supper, are presented to the congregation to 
give an account of their faith and to be commended to 
God by prayer with the laying on of hands, an act 
which was customary in connection with prayer and 
singing in the time of the patriarchs and subsequently. 
That this intercession with God and commending to 
Him of adult believers, after a prescribed examination, 
should be called confirmation, we readily accede to, 
even as this same custom has been regularly observed 
in our congregations. 

The Palatinate princes were also publicly confirmed 
in the church. Electoral Prince Frederick (B. 1596), 
afterward Elector Frederick V., was asked the follow- 
ing questions, after having been instructed in the Hei- 
delberg Catechism from 1606-1608 by his private tutor, 
Heinrich Alting,* when at twelve he was " presented" 
for confirmation. The first part of these questions had 
reference to faith. 1. Whether the prince had properly 
comprehended the system of faith in which he had 
hitherto been instructed. A brief confession formed 
the answer. 2. Whether he was able to defend this 
doctrine. Then followed the doctrinal differences with 



* Heinrich Alting had previous to this time directed the studies 
of three young Reformed counts of Nassau, Solms and Isenburg in 
the Reformed college at Sedan, and returned thither in the same 
capacity in 1608 with the electoral prince. Later he became pro- 
fessor in Heidelberg, and died when professor in Groningen in 1644. 



264 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



the Lutheran Church (" Lord's Supper, Person of 
Christ, Election, Providence"), and then with the 
Pomish Church. 3. Whether he was prepared to con- 
fess his faith, which he had recognized as the true faith 
before the Church. 4. Whether he was determined to 
remain faithful to his confession, even under persecutions. 
The second part of the questions pertained to conduct. 
1. Whether he knew how Christians should live. 2. 
Whether he would so live. 3. Whether he was pre- 
pared to promise this publicly before the entire congre- 
gation, before being admitted to, and to repeat those 
promises as often as he would partake of, the commun- 
ion. 4. Whether he would allow himself to be exhorted 
out of the Word of God if he ever departed from this 
good resolution, and whether he would acquiesce in the 
admonitions and corrections of the Church. 

b) If we desire to use the name " confirmation," we are 
in no case to understand by it a corroboration or con- 
firmation of the baptismal covenant, neither on the 
part of the minister, nor on the part of the children ; 
but only on the part of the latter a confirmation or 
public assent to the faith of the denomination in which 
they were instructed and of which they made confes- 
sion before the congregation. They are in reality 
those who affirm, not those who are confirmed. To 
this also points the old Reformed custom, which still 
exists in the Palatinate churches, that the children 
extend the hand to the elders, as a token of the vow of 
fidelity. Upon their confession they are then admitted 
to the table of the Lord. Their " becoming of age" 
consists simply in this, that they are allowed to take 
upon themselves the place of their sponsors, They do 
not yet have a vote in the congregation, nor is confir- 
mation any longer regarded as a close of their school 
life, and in the German Empire it no longer marks 
the period when a youth is permitted to take an oath. 
This now requires the completion of the sixteenth year. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



265 



c) In the time when Rationalism prevailed, confir- 
mation was elevated to the importance of a sacrament, 
even above it, and to-day there is yet a great deal of 
this sentimental over-estimation. So also it is utterly 
contrary to the spirit of the Reformed Church, which 
everywhere and always insists upon truth and sobriety, 
and is averse to all manufactured impressiveness, when 
confirmation is made an occasion of sentimental excita- 
tion, or a spectacle, which feeds the vanity of parents 
and of children. The act should be earnest, real and 
simple. 

d) Gisbert Voetius (Vuzius,) the most important 
authority of the Netherlands in Church polity (died 
1676, when professor at Utrecht), "most decidedly 
approves of this method of procedure in the Church." 
"After the officiating minister has offered a prayer and 
has read the names of the different catechumens, an 
examination is to follow, which is to cover the whole 
catechism, and in which questions are to be directed to 
individuals, either in regular order or promiscuously, 
and, when necessary, the answers are to be repeated 
and explained more fully by the minister for the sake 
of the catechumens and the hearers. At the comple- 
tion of the examination the following questions are to 
be put to them, to which they are all to give hearty 
responses : " Do you declare the doctrine of our Church, 
in as far as. you have learned, heard and confessed the 
same, to be the true and wholesome doctrine, which is 
in conformity with the Holy Scriptures ?" Answer : 
"Yes." " Do you promise by God's grace to remain 
constant in the confession of this wholesome doctrine, 
and to live and die in it ?" Answer : " Yes." " Do 
you promise in conformity with this holy doctrine to 
lead at all times a pious, honorable and unblamable 
life, and to adorn your profession with good works ?" 
Answer : " Yes." " Do you promise to submit vour- 

24 



266 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



selves continually to the admonition, correction and 
discipline of the Church, if you should happen (which 
God forbid) to lapse in doctrine or in life ?" Answer : 
"Yes." 

To this solemn vow and promise the minister adds a 
benediction that God, who has commenced this good 
work and has furthered it, hitherto, by His grace, might 
confirm them in it, and accomplish it more and more 
until the day of Jesus Christ. " These are essentially 
the questions, which, along with others or more exten- 
sive ones, may be put by the minister." 

" Lastly the entire act is concluded with thanksgiv- 
ing and prayer, and the congregation is dismissed." 

e) The form of benediction during the laying on of 
hands reads as follows in the Electoral Palatinate Di- 
rectory of Worship of 1724 : " God the Father, Son 
and Holy Ghost grant unto you His grace, shelter and 
protection from all evil, strength and help unto all 
good, for the sake of the merits of our only Redeemer, 
Jesus Christ. Amen." 

In the Directory of Worship of Lippe of 1686 : 
" After giving the answers (to the questions of confes- 
sion) the children kneel, and the minister, who either 
lays his hands upon each of them, or extends them over 
them in a body, says : ' God the Father, Son and Holy 
Ghost, the only true and living God, confirm and 
strengthen you according to the riches of His mercy, 
that ye may be His children and His heirs, and prove 
yourselves such through your whole lives, to the glory 
of His great uame and your present and eternal salva- 
tion, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.' " 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 267 



OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 
Question 75. 

How art thou admonished and assured in the Lord's Supper, that 
thou art a partaker of that one sacrifice of Christ accomplished on the 
cross, and of all his benefits f 

Thus, that Christ has commanded me, and all believers, to eat of 
this broken bread, and to drink of this cup, in remembrance of 
him ; adding these promises, first, that his body was offered and 
broken on the cross for me, and his blood shed for me, as certainly 
as I see with my eyes the bread of the Lord broken for me, and the 
cup communicated to me ; and further, that he feeds and nourishes 
my soul to everlasting life, with his crucified body and shed blood, 
as assuredly as I receive from the hands of the minister and taste 
with my mouth the bread and cup of the Lord, as certain signs of 
the body and blood of Christ. 

I. The Supper and Its Guests. 

1. The name of the Supper. 

a) The Holy Supper takes its name from the time 
when the Lord Jesus Christ instituted it, viz., on the 
evening or in the night when He was betrayed. On 
this account also it is called a supper. 

b) It is called the Table or Supper of the Lord, 
because the Lord Himself has provided it for us, and 
is Himself present as host, and offers Himself as the 
heavenly food and drink. 

c) It is called breaking of bread, Acts 2 : 42, because 
the breaking of the bread is the most significant, sym- 
bolical act connected with it, pointing to the broken, 
i. e., slain body of Christ, as His only sacrifice, accom- 
plished on the cross. Compare 1 Cor. 10 : 16, " The 
bread which we break." 

d) Eucharist, which means thanksgiving, was its 
name in the ancient Church, suggested by the other 
prominent feature, the cup of thanksgiving, and because 
in connection with it we give thanks unto the Lord for 
the benefits, which He purchased for us by His sacri- 



268 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



fice on the cross, and which He confirms to us in the 
Supper. Compare 1 Cor. 10 : 16, " The cup of blessing 
which we bless. " 

e) It is called communion, which means fellowship, 
because thereby our communion or union with Christ, 
and the communion of believers with one another, is set 
forth and sealed. 

The designation " sacrament of the altar" comes from 
the Romish Church, from the sacrifice of the mass per- 
formed on the " altar." We, as Reformed, therefore 
iustly reject this designation. 

2. The essential character of this sacrament is that 
of a meal, as the name already indicates. It points to 
the inward assimilation of that which we receive by 
eating and drinking. Valuables, which we receive, 
may be locked in a chest or carried upon the person, 
but food and drink enter our bodies, and are completely 
assimilated by the body. The former is an outward 
possession, this an inward, inseparable from our own 
life. The body can only receive and assimilate mate- 
rial food and drink through its organs. Spiritual food 
can only be received by the soul, the organ of the inner 
man. In the Holy Supper we, therefore, receive by 
the mouth into our bodies the earthly gifts of bread 
and wine, while the heavenly gifts, the body and blood 
of Christ, are united with our souls by faith. Where 
only earthly gifts are received, it is an ordinary eating 
and drinking ; where only spiritual gifts, the Word 
and Spirit of God and the merits of Christ, are received 
and enjoyed, it is a spiritual eating. Where both 
spiritual gifts and material gifts, related to the spirit- 
ual, are received, it is called a sacramental eating and 
drinking. 

3. The gifts. 

a) The material gifts in the Holy Supper, as outer 
signs and seals, the so-called elements, are bread and 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 269 



wine. They are the choicest products of the earth for 
food and drink, given by God Himself for the preser- 
vation and strengthening of the bodily life. Ps. 104 : 
14, 15. 

b) The heavenly gifts in the Holy Supper, which are 
signified and visibly represented by bread and wine 
and which are given us for our inward quickening, are 
the body and blood of Christ, sacrificed on the cross. 
Christ Himself says in the words of institution : " This 
is my body, which is broken for you (on the cross) ; 
take and drink ye all of it ; this is the New Testament 
in my blood, which is shed for you" (on the cross). 
Of the reception of a " glorified" body and blood the 
Scriptures give no intimation. 

c) As little as in the nature of things in general the 
material and the spiritual can be transformed into each 
other, or can be mixed up with each other, so little can 
also here in the Holy Supper the material gifts be 
transformed into the spiritual, or the spiritual gifts be 
mixed up with the material. 

The transformation of the body and blood of Christ 
into bread and wine, so that the latter are said to lose 
their nature and only retain the outward form and 
taste, is taught by the Romish Church. The other, 
that the body and blood of Christ, after the consecra- 
tion during the Holy Supper, are present in bread and 
wine as substance, and are received by the mouth, is 
taught by the Lutheran Church. The Reformed 
Church teaches that we receive at the same time with 
the bread and wine, but unchanged and unmixed, the 
body and blood of Christ, the former after a bodily 
manner with our mouth, and the latter after a spiritual 
manner with the soul by faith. A wider difference 
between the Lutheran and the Reformed doctrine is 
this, that according to the former the unbelieving also 
receive the body present in the bread, and the blood of 



270 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



Christ present in the wine, while the Reformed lay- 
stress upon the fact that believers only receive the 
heavenly gifts, since the mouth is the instrument of 
the body for, the reception of food and drink, while for 
the reception of spiritual gifts, faith, the organ, as it 
were, of the soul is required. 

4. That Christ instituted the holy supper in con- 
junction with the passover, is neither accidental nor 
arbitrary, but points to the passover as the correspond- 
ing sacrament of the old covenant, from which the sig- 
nificance of the New Testament sacrament is to be 
learned. The holy supper points to the only sacrifice 
of Christ on the cross, accomplished for the redemp- 
tion of sin, as the passover pointed to the slain lamb, 
on account of whose blood the destroying angel passed 
by the houses of the children of Israel at the time of 
their deliverance from Egyptian bondage (passover 
means to pass by or to spare). Christ joined the holy 
supper to the passover of the old covenant, in that He 
took for its institution of the bread and wine which 
were used in the celebration of the passover. He did 
not take of the lamb, but of the bread, because in that 
act He abolished the sacrament of the old covenant as 
a rite, and substituted for it a new rite, yet correspond- 
ing to the type and suggestive of His discourse (John 
6) concerning the bread which came down from heaven 
to give life to the world, in which He also speaks of 
the eating of His flesh and the drinking of His blood. 

As was the passover under the old covenant, so the 
holy supper as the sacrament of the new covenant is : 

a) A memorial supper. As the passover was the 
commemoration of the deliverance from Egypt and the 
exemption of God's people from the judgment upon 
Egypt, so the holy supper commemorates the deliv- 
erance from sin through the only sacrifice of Christ on 
the cross and the forgiveness of sins through the blood 
of Jesus Christ. 1 Cor. 11 : 24, 25. 



THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 271 



b) A covenant meal. By the common eating of the 
passover the communion of all the children of Israel 
as the people of God was to be set forth and confirmed. 
1 Cor. 10 : 16-18. The apostle explains here what he 
calls communion by referring to the sacrificial com- 
munion of the old covenant, which was set forth by the 
common participation in the sacrificial meal. There- 
fore the expression, the communion of the body and 
blood of Christ, does not indicate a union of the body 
and blood of Christ with bread and wine, but (com- 
pare " partakers of the altar") on the one hand, the 
participation of the communicants in the only sacrifice 
of Christ on the cross and all His benefits, and, on the 
other hand, the communion which believers have with 
one another by partaking of the same food and drink. 

c) A confession. The passover was a thankful con- 
fession on the part of the believing community of their 
gracious covenant keeping God and distinguished Is- 
rael as the people of God from the Gentiles in the same 
manner as did circumcision. Ex. 12: 43-45, 1 Cor. 
11: 26. 

II. Signs and Seals. 

1. The sacrament of the holy supper is based upon 
the command given at the time of the institution by 
Christ " to eat of this broken bread and to drink of 
this cup in remembrance of Him." 1 Cor. 11 : 24, 25. 

2. The promise of Christ consists in this, that His 
sacrifice on the cross is accomplished for us, and that 
He feeds our souls with His crucified body and offers 
His shed blood for drink unto eternal life. The con- 
firmation of this promise we are to receive by eating 
the elements of bread and wine, after these have been 
consecrated for the celebration, i. e., separated from 
their ordinary use. They are, therefore, the visible 
signs and seals or pledges of the invisible heavenly 
blessings which we receive in the supper. 



272 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



a) Signs and seals of redemption through Christ. 
" That His body was offered and broken on the cross 
for me, and His blood shed for me, as certainly as I 
see with my eyes the bread of the Lord broken for me, 
and the cup communicated to me." 

b) Signs and seals of our union with Christ, " That 
He feeds and nourishes my soul to everlasting life, 
with His crucified body and shed blood, as assuredly 
as I receive from the hands of the minister, and taste 
with my mouth the bread and cup of the Lord, as cer- 
tain signs of the body and blood of Christ." 

Question 76. 

What is it then to eat the crucified body and drink the shed blood 
of Christ f 

It is not only to embrace with a believing heart all the sufferings 
and death of Christ, and thereby to obtain the pardon of sin and 
life eternal ; but also, besides that, to become more and more united 
to his sacred body, by the Holy Ghost, who dwells both in Christ 
and in us ; so that we, although Christ is in heaven, and we on 
earth, are notwithstanding, "flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone 
and that we live and are governed forever by one Spirit, as mem- 
bers of the same body are by one soul. 

Questions 76-80 are introduced in part to elucidate 
and establish Question 75, and in part to guard against 
error. 

L What the Guests Do at the Holy Supper. 

1. As everything in the kingdom of God is arranged 
to serve spiritual ends, so also in the holy supper nei- 
ther the earthly gift nor the outward eating and drink- 
ing are the main factors, but the heavenly gift and the 
spiritual participation. That which the Lord says in 
His discourse in John 6 : 27-58 of His flesh as the 
true meat and of His blood as the true drink, which 
give and maintain eternal life, and of the eating and 
drinking of the same, does not have express reference 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 273 



to the Lord's Supper, but it is helpful to the proper 
understanding of the same. The men of Capernaum, 
who had only a mind for the visible, the Lord sent 
away, and those of His disciples who were not rooted 
in faith, departed from Him on account of this " hard 
saying." (" Not in the discourse, but rather in their 
hearts lay the hardness." — Calvin.) 

2. True guests at the table of the Lord are, there- 
fore, those who do not look upon the visible, but upon 
the invisible (2 Cor. 4: 18), and who have living 
faith. For to eat the crucified body of Christ and to 
drink His shed blood, consists on our part in this, that 
we receive with believing hearts and have therein the 
forgiveness of sins and eternal life, the entire sufferings 
and death of Christ, which in the broken bread and 
poured out wine are set forth and sealed to us, that the 
same may be of real advantage to us. J ohn 6 : 50, 35, 
54, 47. 

II. What the Lord Does in the Holy Supper. 

1. We do not unite ourselves with Him, but we are 
united with His body by the Holy Ghost, who dwells 
in Christ and in us. The union is thus effected, 
although Christ with His body is in heaven and we 
are upon the earth. John 6 : 63, Col. 3: 1. On this 
account the deacon in the early Church, before the 
beginning of the celebration of the Lord's Supper, 
addressed the congregation : Sursum corda ! i. e., lift 
up your hearts. 1 Cor. 11 : 25. In a bodily manner 
Christ will come to His own only at the end of the 
world, and it is not to be overlooked that in connection 
with the words of institution of the Lord's Supper Paul 
makes reference to it ! 

2. The union with the body of Christ in the Holy 
Supper is so close and intimate that we are " of His 
flesh and of His bones." Eph. 5 : 30. Paul manifestly 
had in view here the words of Adam, Gen. 2 : 23, and 



274 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



set forth the most intimate spiritual communion 
between Christ and His believers, the members of His 
spiritual body. 

Although the eating and drinking of the body and 
blood of Christ in the supper are spiritual, and in the 
first place are of advantage to the spiritual man, in 
virtue of the connection of the soul with the body, our 
mortal body thereby partakes of the power of the eter- 
nal life to the extent to which the body and blood of 
Christ become in us the seed of immortality. John 6 : 
54. 

Question 77. 

Where has Christ promised that he will as certainly feed and nour- 
ish believers with his body and blood, as they eat of this broken bread 
and drink of this cup f 

In the institution of the supper, which is thus expressed : " The 
Lord Jesus, in the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, 
and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat ; 
this is my body which is broken for you ; this do in remembrance 
of me : After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had 
supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood : this do 
ye as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as 
ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death 
until he come." 

This promise is repeated by the holy Apostle Paul, where he says, 
" the cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the 
blood of Christ ? the bread which we break, is it not the communion 
of the body of Christ ? for we, being many, are one bread and one 
body ; because we are all partakers of that one bread." 

I. The Institution of the Holy Supper. 

1. " The Lord Jesus : He is the author of this Supper. 
It is for this reason called the Lord's Supper. We must, 
therefore, inquire what the Lord did, said, and com- 
manded, as Cyprian appropriately admonishes us, when 
he says : ' If Christ alone is to be heard, we must not 
regard what any one before us has thought proper to be 
done; but what Christ, who is before all, has first 
done.' 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 275 



"The same night in which he was betrayed : This cir- 
cumstance is added to teach us that Christ instituted 
His Supper at the last celebration of the Passover that 
He might show, 1. That there was now an end to all 
the ancient sacrifices, and that He substituted a new 
sacrament, which should henceforth be observed, the 
Passover being now abolished ; and that it signified the 
same thing which that did in the place of which it was 
substituted, with the exception of the difference of 
time. The Paschal Lamb signified that Christ would 
come, and offer Himself a sacrifice. The Lord's Sup- 
per teaches that this is already accomplished. 2. That 
He might excite His disciples and us to a more atten- 
tive consideration of the cause on account of which He 
instituted this Supper, and that He might also show 
how solemnly He would commend it to our regard, in 
as much as He would not do any thing just before His 
death, except that which was of the greatest importance. 
Christ instituted it then at the time of His death that 
it might be, as it were, the testament, or last will of 
our Testator. In a word : Paul adds this circumstance 
that we may know, that Christ instituted this Supper as 
a memorial of Himself now ready to die. 

"He took bread : The bread which Christ took was 
unleavened bread, such as they ate at the feast of the 
Passover. This circumstance, however, does not prop- 
erly belong to the supper, any more than the evening 
at which time it was instituted ; for the use of unleav- 
ened bread at the institution was accidental. Hence 
we must not infer from this that there is any necessity 
for the use of such bread in the celebration of the Sup- 
per, or that Christ would lay down any particular way 
of baking or using it. Yet still the bread which is 
used in the celebration of the Lord's Supper differs 
from common bread, for whilst the latter is eaten for 
the nourishment of the body, the former is received for 



276 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



the nourishment of the soul, or for the confirmation of 
our faith, and union with Christ. It is here to be 
observed too that Christ is said to have taken bread 
from the table, that is, with His hand. Hence He did 
not take His body ; nor did He take His body with, 
in or under the bread, except in a sacramental sense ; 
for His body did not lie upon, but sat at the table. 

" When he had given thanks : Matthew and Mark say 
of the bread, when he had blessed it; and of the cup, 
when he had given thanks. Luke and Paul say of the 
bread, when he had given thanks. Hence to bless and 
give thanks signify in this place the same thing, so 
that the mystery of the magical consecration of the 
Papists cannot be found in the difference of the lang- 
uage here used. Christ blessed, that is, gave thanks to 
His Father, and not to the bread, for spiritual bless- 
ings ; because His work on earth was now finished, 
with the exception of the last act, which was just at 
hand, and because it pleased the Father to redeem the 
world by the death of His Son : or He gave thanks 
because the typical Passover was abolished, and that 
which was true and signified was now exhibited, and 
that the Church had a memorial of Him : or He mav 
have given thanks for the wonderful gathering and 
preservation of the Church. 

"He brake it: He broke the bread which He took 
from the table, and distributed the one bread among 
many, and not some invisible thing which was con- 
cealed in the bread. He did not break His body, but 
the bread. Hence Paul says, ' The bread which we 
break.' (1 Cor. 10 : 16.) He distributed the one 
bread among many : because we being many are one 
body. Christ then broke the bread not merely for the 
purpose of distributing it, but also to signify thereby, 
1. The greatness of His sufferings, and the separation 
of His soul from His body. 2. The communion of 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 277 



many with His own body, and the bond of their union, 
and mutual love. i The bread which we break is it not 
the communion of the body of Christ ; for we being 
many are one bread, and one body ; for we are all par- 
takers of that one bread.' (1 Cor. 10: 16.) The 
breaking of the bread is, therefore, a necessary cere- 
mony both on account of its signification, and for the 
confirmation of our faith, and is to be retained in the 
celebration of the Supper : 1. Because of the command 
of Christ, Do this. 2. Because of the authority and 
example of the Church in the times of the Apostles, 
which in view of this circumstance termed the whole 
transaction the breaking of bread. 3. For our comfort, 
that we may know that the body of Christ was broken 
for us, as certainly as we see the bread broken. 4. 
That the doctrine of transubstantiation and consub- 
stantiation may be rejected and abandoned. 

"lake, eat : This command was addressed to the dis- 
ciples and the whole Church of the New Testament, 
from which it appears, 1. That the Popish mass, in 
which the priest gives nothing to be received and eaten 
by the church, is not the Lord's Supper, but a private- 
supper to him that sacrifices, and a mere theatrical 
performance. 2. That we ought not to be idle specta- 
tors of the Supper, but ought to receive and eat it. 
3. That the Lord's Supper ought not to be celebrated, 
except where there are those to receive and partake of 
it. 4. That it is a sign of grace on the part of God, 
who exhibits unto us certain benefits which we are to 
receive by faith, as we take the signs with our hand 
and mouth. 

"This is my body which is broken for you : If we wish 
to take this expression in its literal sense, its purport 
can only be : This, i. e., this bread is my body which 
is broken and given unto death for you, which can 
mean nothing else but : The substance of this bread is> 



278 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



the substance of my body. But to understand the 
words in this sense would be absurd ; for bread is some- 
thing destitute of life, which is baked of grain, and not 
personally united with the Word ; but the body of 
Christ is a living substance, born of the virgin Mary, 
and personally united with the Word. Christ, then, 
calls the bread His body, meaning thereby, that it is 
the sign of His body, attributing by a figure of speech 
the name of the thing signified to the sign ; because He 
appoints this bread as the sign and sacrament of His 
body, as Augustine interprets it when he says: ''The 
Lord did not hesitate to say, This is my body, when He 
gave the sign of His body! Be it far from us, there- 
fore, that we should say that Christ took bread visibly, 
and His body invisibly in the bread; for He did not 
say, In this bread is my body ; or, This bread is my 
body invisibly ; but, This bread is my body, true and 
visible, which is offered for you. 

" These, moreover, are the words of the promise 
added to this sacrament, for the purpose of teaching us 
that the bread in this use is the body of Christ, which 
is exhibited and given to those who partake of it and 
believe in this promise ; or, it is the flesh of Christ 
which He promised that He would give for the life of 
the world. For this is the same promise which Christ 
had made before in the sixth chapter of John, where 
He says that His flesh shall quicken us, and that it 
shall contribute to the salvation of those who eat of it. 
Here He merely adds the sacramental rite, which 
clothes and seals the promise, as if He would say : I 
have promised in the gospel eternal life to all that eat 
my flesh and drink my blood ; now I confirm and seal 
with this external rite the promise which I have made, 
that henceforth all that believe this promise and eat 
this bread, may be fully persuaded and assured that 
they do truly eat my flesh, which is given for the life 
of the world, and that they have eternal life. 



THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 279 



" By this promise the bread is made the sacrament 
of Christ's body, and His body is made the thing sig- 
nified by this sacrament ; and these two, the sign and 
thing signified, are joined in the sacrament, not by any 
physical union, nor by any corporal or local existence 
of the one in the other, much less by a transubstantia- 
tion or change of the one into the other ; but by a sac- 
ramental union, whose bond is this promise, which is 
added Xo the bread, requiring faith of those who use it, 
which union declares, seals and exhibits the things sig- 
nified by the signs. From this it appears that these 
things in their lawful use are always exhibited and 
received conjointly, but not without faith, viewing and 
apprehending the thing promised and now present in 
the sacrament ; yet not present or included in the sign, 
as in a vessel, but present in the promise, which is the 
better part, being the soul of the sacrament. For they 
want judgment who say that the body of Christ cannot 
be present in the sacrament, unless it be in or under 
the bread, as if the bread alone, without the promise, 
were the sacrament, or the principal part of it. 

" Which for you : For my disciples ; that is, for your 
salvation and that of the whole Church. 

"Is broken : But the body of Christ, some one may 
say, was not broken, nor is it now broken. To this we 
reply, that the Apostle in this passage has respect to 
the signification cf the breaking of the bread, which 
denotes the rending of Christ's body. For, as the 
bread is broken in pieces, so the body and soul of 
Christ were torn from each other upon the cross. The 
property of the sign is, therefore, by a sacramental 
metonymy, attributed to the thing signified. 

"This do: This is a command for the observance of 
this sacrament. Ihis which you see me do, do ye also 
hereafter in my Church ; when congregated take bread, 
give thanks, break, distribute, eat, etc. He compre- 



280 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



hends and gives command in reference to the whole 
transaction ; and that to us who believe ; not to the 
Jews who were about to crucify Him. 

"In remembrance of me : That is, meditating upon my 
benefits which I have bestowed upon you, and which 
this sacrament calls to your remembrance ; feeling also 
in your hearts that I give you these my gifts, and cele- 
brating them by public confession in the sight of God, 
angels and men, and so giving thanks for them. The 
design of the Lord's Supper is, therefore, a remem- 
brance of Christ, which does not consist merely in 
meditating upon His history, but is a remembrance of 
His death and benefits, including faith, by which we 
appropriate to ourselves Christ and His merits, and 
gratitude or a public confession of the benefits of Christ. 
The parts of this remembrance, which is, as it were, 
the whole supper, are faith and gratitude, from which 
it appears that it was instituted to be a memorial of 
Christ, calling to our recollection what and how great 
benefits He hath purchased for us, and with what and 
how great sufferings He has obtained them, confirming 
in us at the same time the faith by which we receive 
these gifts. It does not, therefore, follow that because 
Christ has instituted the supper to His remembrance, 
that it is not for the confirmation of our faith any more 
than if I were to say the supper does not confirm our 
faith, because the Holy Ghost does. It is no proper 
consequence to infer the denial of an instrumental cause 
from the fact that we give prominence to the chief 
cause, no more than the denial of a part follows from a 
statement of the whole of which it is a part. Remem- 
brance of Christ comprehends the remembrance of His 
benefits, together with faith and the giving of thanks ; 
for Christ, by the use of these signs, admonishes us of 
Himself and of His benefits, and stirs up and estab- 
lishes our confidence in Him, from which it naturally 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 281 



follows that we also publicly express our gratitude to 
him. Hence this supper ought not only to admonish 
us of our duty, as some will have it, but it should first 
remind us of Christ's benefit, and then of our duty ; 
for where there is no benefit, there cannot be any grati- 
tude. 

"Drink ye all of this : This command condemns the 
conduct of the Pope, who refused the laity the cup, and 
is likewise opposed to the sophistical figment of the 
concomitance of the blood with the body of Christ 
under the form of bread. Christ commanded all to 
eat and to drink. The Pope, however, will not allow 
the wine to any but the priests, giving nothing more 
than the bread to the laity, affirming that they drink 
in eating the bread. This shameful conduct is con- 
demned by this command of Christ : " Drink ye all of 
this." That the argument of the Pope in justification 
of his course is a mere sophism, when he affirms that 
this command had reference merely to the disciples 
who were present at the time, who were not laymen, 
but priests, is evident, 1. Because by this argument 
they foolishly make the disciples mass-mumming 
priests. 2. Because the Scriptures do not recognize 
the distinction which they make between the priests 
and laity. All the faithful are called priests in the 
Scriptures. "And hath made us kings and priests unto 
God, and his Father." " Ye are a royal priesthood, to 
offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus 
Christ." (Kev. 1 : 6, 1 Pet. 2 : 9, 5.) 3. Because by 
the same pretext the whole supper might be taken 
away from the laity, especially from females, if it were 
true that none are to be admitted to this sacrament but 
that class of persons present at its institution. The 
figment of concomitance is a wicked pretext, which 
Christ refutes when He calls the bread by itself, His 
body, and the cup by itself, His blood, and gave both 
25 



282 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



separately to the disciples, to be eaten and drunk, and 
commanded them henceforth to administer them in the 
same way. 

" 2 his cup is the New Testament: Or, the covenant 
according to the Greek word Diatheke, which corresponds 
with the Hebrew Berith. It is called the new covenant, 
which means the renewed, or fulfilled covenant. The 
new covenant consists in our reconciliation with God, 
and communion with Christ and all His benefits by 
faith in His sacrifice already offered, without the 
observance of the ceremonies of the old Passover. The 
supper is called the new covenant with reference to its 
signification, because it is the sign and seal of this 
covenant, sealing unto us our reconciliation with God, 
and our union with Christ by faith. Christ, in calling 
the supper the new covenant, comprehends both the 
promise and the condition expressed in the promise, 
which is repentance and faith on our part ; from which 
it follows that it was also instituted to bind us to a 
Christian life. The new covenant is here also opposed 
to the old, which was the Passover with its rites. The 
supper signifies Christ already offered; the Passover 
signified Christ, who should be offered. Both, how- 
ever, signify our union with Christ. From what has 
now been said, we may infer that the drinking of the 
blood of Christ is not corporal ; for the New Testa- 
ment is only one, and includes also all the people of God 
who lived before the coming of Christ into the world. 

"In my blood, which is shed for you for the remission 
of sins : The blcod of Christ is His death. Hence in 
His blood, is the same thing as in, or on account of 
His death. The shedding of the blood of Christ is His 
merit, in view of which we receive the forgiveness of 
sin, when it is apprehended by faith. 

"As often as ye eat this bread r The supper is, there- 
fore, to be frequently celebrated, which we may also 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 283 



establish from its design, which is to celebrate the 
Lord's death. 

"Ye do shew the Lord's death : Believe that Christ 
died, and that for you ; then profess His death pub- 
licly before all. 

" Until He come : This supper is, therefore, to be per- 
petuated unto the end of the world, nor is any other 
external form of worship to be expected. 

" The words of the institution, which we have now 
explained, may be more fully illustrated by the words 
of the apostle : " The cup of blessing which we bless, 
is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The 
bread which we break, is it not the communion of the 
body of Christ ?" (1 Cor. 10: 16.) 

" The cup of blessing : It is called the cup of blessing, 
or thanksgiving, because it is received for this end, 
that we may call to mind the benefits of Christ, and so 
render thanks to Him for His sufferings and death. 

"The communion of the blood of Christ: Communion 
is a participation in the thing which is common. The 
communion of the body and blood of Christ is, there- 
fore, to be made through faith partakers of Christ and 
all His benefits, by the same Spirit dwelling both in 
Christ and in us, and effecting the same things in us 
which He does in Christ : or, it is the spiritual fellow- 
ship which the faithful have with Christ, as members 
with the head, and as branches with the vine. The 
bread and vine are the communion, that is, they are 
the sign and testimony of our communion with Christ. 
This communion, as the apostle briefly expresses it, 
consists in this, that we, being many, are one body ; 
from which it is easy to see that this our communion 
with Christ is no corporal eating ; for it is effected only 
by faith and the Holy Ghost. Christ is the head, and 
we are the members ; all who are members have com- 
munion in all the benefits of Christ. The head and 



284 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



benefits are both common : hence we are all members 
in common and so have mutual love one to another." 

2. Olevianus. " Let us see how the holy supper 
directs our hearts and confidence to the Savior. 

" First, that Christ, by means of the holy supper, 
would direct our hearts to His bitter sufferings, may 
easily be inferred from the fact that He instituted the 
holy sacrament immediately before that suffering, viz., 
in the night when He was betrayed, and instead of the 
passover, which pointed to the sufferings of Christ yet 
to come, as the holy supper points to the same now 
accomplished. It may also be proved by the outward 
signs of the sacrament which Christ instituted, and by 
the words of the supper. 

" In the first place, the breaking of the bread is a 
certain and holy sign that the body of Jesus Christ was 
broken for us, i. e., was tortured with great pain and 
separated from His soul. 

" Secondly, the institution of the holy wine as a spe- 
cial memorial of His blood, beside the bread, also visi- 
bly represents His death, viz., that upon the cross His 
blood was as truly separated from the body and shed 
for the forgiveness of sins, as Christ instituted the holy 
wine beside the breaking of bread. 

" Thirdly, if you view rightly the words of institu- 
tion, you will see that the Lord Jesus wishes to direct 
your heart and confidence to His bitter suffering. For 
Christ does not say simply : ' This is my body,' as 
some claim, but adds, ' which is offered for you.' Nei- 
ther does He simply say : ' This is my blood,' but 
adds, ' which is shed for you for the remission of sins.' 

" Christ might well have said : this is my body 
which is born of the Virgin Mary, or this is my body 
which is to be glorified. But He would not thus speak, 
but as follows : this is my body which is given unto 
you, viz., unto death ; in order that He might direct 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 285 



our hearts and confidence 10 His suffering and death as 
the only ground and foundation of our salvation, so 
that it becomes to our hungering and thirsting souls 
the true food and drink unto eternal life, as Christ else- 
where teaches (John 6) when He says, the bread which 
I give is my flesh, which I give for the life of the 
world. 

" Finally, the apostle proves it clearly in the words 
in which He cites the chief reasons why we should 
keep the holy supper. For, He says, as often as ye eat 
this bread and drink this cup of the Lord, ye do show 
the Lord's death until He come. 1 Cor. 11. To pro- 
claim the death of the Lord means to trust in your 
heart, and outwardly by the reception of the holy sup- 
per to testify and to confess before God, His holy 
angels and men, that by no other means than through 
the bitter death of Jesus Christ all your sins are 
already forgiven, and that God will not remember 
them forever, that you have been accepted as a mem- 
ber of the Lord Jesus Christ by the Holy Ghost, and 
that you are preserved as such and are an heir of eter- 
nal life, all of which Christ has secured for you by His 
death, and has promised to you through the Holy 
Ghost, and by this outward memorial repeats and 
confirms it. But you, on the other hand, publicly 
acknowledge that you received this gift and are still 
receiving it by true faith, and will never think of 
surrendering it, and with heartfelt joy you will offer to 
Christ for His bitter death, whence all these benefits 
flow, praise, honor and thanksgiving." 

II. The Celebration of the Supper. 

1. Since by the one sacrifice of Christ upon the cross 
all sacrifices have been fulfilled and the sacrificial ser- 
vice has been abolished, so also the altar as the place 
of offering has been superseded in the Christian Church, 



286 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



even as the oldest church knew no altars. The Re- 
formed Church, therefore, celebrates the holy supper 
at the table of the Lord, even as Christ Himself insti- 
tuted and observed it at a table. 

2. In the Reformed Church two forms are common, 
sitting and standing. The former, at which the com- 
municants alternately, commonly twelve at a time, sit 
down at tables or remain in their seats, and pass bread 
and wine to each other, while the minister speaks a 
few words, corresponds most nearly to the first com- 
munion. Yet the other form is not to be rejected, 
according to which the communicants in numbers of 
two or more go to the table or surround the same, in 
order to receive the gifts of the Lord. On the other 
hand, the Reformed Church unanimously rejects kneel- 
ing at the reception, which would be in place in the 
Romish sacrificial service, but not in an Evangelical 
celebration of the communion. At the first commun- 
ion the disciples did not kneel down, but sat (reclined, 
according to the custom of that time) arcund the table. 

3. We use at the supper ordinary wheat bread, and 
not consecrated wafers, just as Christ at the institution 
took of the bread at hand upon the table, which, how- 
ever, in the case of the Lord's Supper, need not be 
unleavened, since this provision was in force only for 
the passover and came to an end with the same. Even 
the oldest churches made use of the ordinary leavened 
bread in the communion. Consecrated wafers signify 
" offerings," and in the Romish and the Lutheran 
Churches are not broken, but are offered entire to the 
communicants. 

4. We, on the contrary, break the bread, because 
the Scriptures themselves lay stress upon this as a sig- 
nificant act. The Lord Himself brake it. The Apos- 
tle Paul speaks of the bread " which we break ;" from 
this the Lord's Supper received its name " breaking of 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 287 



bread" (Acts 2 : 42), and the oldest churches celebrated 
it in this way. 

5. In like manner we set great value upon this, that 
the bread and the cup are given into the hands of the 
communicants, as also the Lord did when He said 
expressly : " Take." We reject the practice of placing 
the bread into the mouth and of holding the cup to the 
lips of the communicants as a sign of priestly assump- 
tion, from which this custom arose. 

6. The consecration of the elements does not consist 
for us in a special act or prayer of consecration, but in 
the reading of the words of institution, whereby bread 
and wine are withdrawn from ordinary use and are set 
apart for holy use in the supper. 

7. In the different Reformed churches, after read- 
ing the words of institution, no special form of distri- 
bution is used. The words adopted, upon the advice 
of Melancthon, by the Elector Frederick II. of the Pa- 
latinate and by the Palatinate Directory of Worship 
of 1563, formerly extensively used in the Reformed 
German churches, are the words of promise at the close 
of Question 77 : " The bread, which we break, is the 
communion of the body of Christ." " The cup of bless- 
ing, which we bless, is the communion of the blood of 
Christ." 

8. How often shall the communion be celebrated ? 
This is a question which concerns the Church on the 
one hand and the individual believer on the other. 

a) From Geneva the custom of celebrating the Lord's 
Supper four times during the year has spread in the 
Reformed Church. Calvin was not in accord with the 
practice, but preferred a monthly celebration. In sev- 
eral of the Reformed churches of Germany (as in 
Lippe) it is celebrated every month during the winter 
and less frequently during the summer. 



288 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



b) As to how often we should partake of the Lord's 
Supper, Calvin expresses himself in his "Treatise on 
the Lord's Supper" as follows : " With reference to the 
number of times that the Lord's Supper is to be par- 
taken of, no fixed regulation can be adopted. For in 
the case of every one there are frequent special hin- 
drances, which excuse him if he absents himself. Be- 
sides, we have no express command which obligates all 
Christians to partake of it every time when it is offered 
to them. In all cases, if we keep its object rightly in 
view, we will recognize that its use ought to be more 
frequent than is commonly the practice. For the more 
our weakness makes itself felt in us, the more fre- 
quently must we practice that which may and will 
serve for the confirmation of our faith and our further- 
ance in a holy life. Therefore in all well regulated 
churches the custom is to be insisted on that the sup- 
per should be celebrated as frequently as the circum- 
stances of the congregation may allow. And every 
individual member, as far as he is able, should be ready 
to partake of it as often as it is celebrated in the con- 
gregation, and only very weighty reasons should keep 
him from the same. Although we have no definite 
command, fixing a time or designating a day, it must 
be sufficient for us to know that it is within the pur- 
pose of the Lord that we should partake of it often, 
otherwise we lose the benefit which arises from it. 

The excuses which some, on the other hand, advance, 
are entirely untenable. Some say that they are unwor- 
thy, and under this pretext abstain from the commun- 
ion throughout the entire year. Others do not con- 
centrate their attention upon their own worthiness, but 
pretend that they cannot commune with many whom 
they see coming to the table without the proper 
preparation. Still others consider frequent communion 
superfluous on the ground that having once accepted 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



289 



Christ, communion with Him does not require repeated 
renewal. The first who excuse themselves on the 
ground of their unworthiness, I would ask how their 
consciences can endure to continue an entire year or 
more in so miserable a state, without venturing to call 
earnestly upon God ? For they must grant that it is 
presumption to call upon God as our Father, when we 
are not members of Jesus Christ, and the latter rela- 
tion does not exist as long as that which is offered to 
us in the communion has not really and truly taken 
possession of us. But when we have the substance 
(Christ Himself), are we not worthy to receive the 
sign ? We, therefore, see that he who would absent 
himself from the enjoyment of the holy supper, is also 
unworthy of the privilege of praying unto God. Be- 
sides, I do not wish to do violence to the consciences 
of those who are disquieted by any scruples whatso- 
ever, though they may not be clear to themselves. 
Rather do I advise them in such cases to wait until the 
Lord Himself frees them from such scruples. So also 
I would not condemn a postponement of communing 
where any other valid hindrance arises. I only desire 
to show that no one can rest easy for any length of 
time by absenting himself from the Lord's Supper on 
account of his unworthiness. For thereby he deprives 
himself of the communion of the Church, in which 
rests all our happiness. Rather let him struggle deter- 
minately against all the obstacles which the devil puts 
in his pathway, that he may not exclude himself from 
so great a blessing and all that it brings with itself. 
The others have a certain show of excuse for them- 
selves when they reason as follows : If it is not proper 
tojoininan ordinary meal with those who, though 
called our brethren, yet live a disorderly and scandal- 
ous life, how much more ought we to hesitate to eat in 
common with them the bread of the Lord, which has 



290 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



been sanctified to this end that it may represent and 
convey to us the body of Christ ? But it is not diffi- 
cult to answer this objection. It is indeed not within 
the province of every single member to judge or decide 
who should be admitted or excluded. This is rather a 
prerogative of the entire Church, or of the pastors with 
the elders, who are his co-adjutors in the government 
of the congregation. The Apostle Paul does not ask 
that one should examine others, but that each one 
should examine himself. It is indeed our duty to 
admonish those whom we see leading disorderly lives ; 
and if they do not wish to hear us, to notify the pastor, 
in order that he may interpose with his ecclesiastical 
authority. But it is not the right way for us to with- 
draw from the society of the vicious by giving up the 
communion of the Church. Besides, it will often hap- 
pen that the offences are not so public as to justify 
exclusion from the Lord's Supper. For however much 
even a pastor might consider in his heart one unwor- 
thy, in no case can he point him out as such publicly 
and send him back from the communion, when he can- 
not appeal to a decision of the Church authorities 
(presbyterium). In such a case we have no other 
recourse than to pray to God that He might deliver 
His Church more and more from all offences, and to 
await the last day, when the chaff will be fully sepa- 
rated from the wheat. In behalf of the third objection 
not even the shadow of a reason can be given. For it 
is not possible to be surfeited by this spiritual bread, 
which was given us in order that after having tasted 
its sweetness, we might desire it more and more, and 
enjoy it as often as it is offered to us. For as long as 
we tarry in this mortal life, Christ is never imparted 
to us in such a manner that our souls are satisfied once 
for all by Him, but He will be our constant support." 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 291 



Question 78. 

Do then the bread and wine become the very body and blood of 
Christ f 

Not at all ; but as the water in baptism is not changed *into the 
blood of Christ, neither is the washing away of sin itself, being only 
the sign and confirmation thereof appointed of God ; so the bread 
of the Lord's supper is not changed into the very body of Christ, 
though, agreeably to the nature and properties of sacraments, it is 
called the body of Christ Jesus. 

1. As Ursinus remarks, this question is not only 
directed against transubstantiation, i. e., against the 
doctrine, according to which bread and wine are 
changed into the body and blood of Christ, but also 
against consubstantiation, i. e., the doctrine that the 
" true," i. e., the essential body of Christ is present 
" in and under the form of bread," and that the " true," 
i. e., the essential blood of Christ is present " in and 
under the form of wine" after consecration. Both these 
teachings (the Romish and the Lutheran) have this in 
common, that a change takes place in relation to the 
bread and wine, while the Reformed Church teaches 
that the bread and wine are distinguished from other 
bread and wine only by their holy use, and remain 
bread and wine unchanged. 

2. The Romish and the Lutheran Church make an 
unfair appeal in this matter to the words : " This 
is." Christ did not say : " This bread is my body ; 
this wine is my blood ;" also not : " In and under 
this bread is my body ; in and under this wine is 
my blood." The words mean much more : " This 
is my body ; — which is offered (or broken) for you ; 
this cup is the New Testament (the new covenant) 
in my blood ; — which is shed for you." He points 
not merely to bread and wine, but at the same time 
also to that which He intended thereby. His body 
was seated before His disciples and His blood coursed 



292 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



through the veins of His body. Therefore neither 
could the bread which He brake, nor the wine which 
He poured into the cup, have been changed into 
His body and blood (into the material or substance of 
His body and blood), nor could both have been pres- 
ent, in and under bread and wine. He says rather 
that His body is offered for them unto death and His 
blood shed for them in His death ; and the Apostle 
Paul says, that as often as we eat " this bread" and 
drink " this cup," we proclaim the death of the Lord. 
This cannot be interpreted in any other way than that 
the Lord wished to give His disciples in the breaking 
of the bread and the pouring out of the wine into the 
cup chiefly a symbolization of His violent death, which 
was still impending over Him, in connection with 
which, however, no change took place in bread and 
wine, nor needed to take place. But then the Lord 
emphasizes at the same time the words " for you," that 
His death was for their benefit, in that He would 
thereby secure for them the " forgiveness of sins." 
This could, however, be imparted to them only if they 
stood by their fellowship with Him through faith and 
continued therein. He calls that eating His body and 
drinking His blood, which can take place only spirit- 
ually, and not that which takes place bodily in the 
eating of the natural bread and wine. 

3. Both sacraments point to " that one sacrifice of 
Christ which He offered for us on the cross," and by 
them the Holy Ghost confirms in believers the com- 
munion of the death and of the life of Christ. As the 
water in baptism is not transformed into the blood of 
Christ, nor includes the blood of Christ, so bread and 
wine in the supper are not transformed into the 
body and blood of Christ, nor do they include them. 
And as baptism is called the washing away of sins, in 
the same sense also in the supper the bread is called 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



293 



the body of Christ and the cup the testament in His 
blood. 

4. This takes place after the manner and usage of 
sacraments, inasmuch as the name of the thing is 
therein attributed to the sign, without any change tak- 
ing place in the sign, either by transformation or inclu- 
sion, but because the thing itself is to be represented 
by the sign in accordance with the similarity existing 
between the two, and its reception to be sealed thereby. 
That the bread remains bread and the wine wine with- 
out change, appears also from the fact that St. Paul 
calls bread " bread," even in its sacred use. 1 Cor. 
10: 16. 

5. The following review may make this clear : 
Circumcision is called the covenant of God, because 

it was a sign of this covenant. Baptism is called 
regeneration and the washing away of sins, because it 
reminds and assures us of the same. The paschal 
lamb is called the passover, because it was to be a sign 
that the Lord was to pass by the houses marked with 
the blood of the lamb. Bread and wine are called the 
body and blood of Christ, because they are received in 
remembrance of the body aod blood of Christ. 

6. The words of the Apostle Paul, " that he that 
eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh 
judgment to himself, because he does not discern the 
body of the Lord," are quoted in support of the inter- 
pretation that the " real" body of Christ is present in 
the supper, and is received and eaten also by unbeliev- 
ers. But if, as has been proved, in the holy supper 
only a spiritual eating of the body and blood of Christ 
is referred to, this can take place only in the case of 
those who possess the organ for the reception of spir- 
itual gifts, and that is faith only. The unbeliever 
brings a guilt, a condemnation upon himself, because 
he does not discern the body of the Lord, i, e., does not 



294 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



distinguish the holy supper from an ordinary meal, and 
thereby slights or abuses that which is holy. 

Question 79. 

Why then doth Christ call the bread his body, and the cup his 
blood, or the new covenant in his blood; and Paul the "communion 
of the body and blood of Christ f" 

Christ speaks thus not without great reason, namely, not only 
thereby to teach us that as bread and wine support this temporal 
life, so his crucified body and shed blood are the true meat and 
drink whereby our souls are fed to eternal life ; but more especially 
by these visible signs and pledges to assure us that we are as really 
partakers of his true body and blood (by the operation of the Holy 
Ghost), as we receive by the mouths of our bodies these holy signs 
in remembrance of him ; and that all his sufferings and obedience 
are as certainly ours, as if we had in our own persons suffered and 
made satisfaction for our sins to God. 

1. Bread and wine are the choicest aliments for the 
preservation and strengthening of the temporal life. 
In like manner the crucified body of Christ and His 
shed blood are the true food and drink of the soul unto 
-eternal life. Christ wished to teach us this first of all 
when He called the bread His body and the cup His 
blood, and Paul, when he applied these to the com- 
munion of the body and blood of Christ, Ps. 104 : 14, 
15, John 6 : 55, 56, 49, 51. 

2. When Christ calls the bread His body and the 
cup His blood, He wishes further not only to teach us 
by these signs, but He also makes use of them as 
pledges and seals, by which He would assure us : 

a) That we truly become partakers of His body and 
blood, not by the eating of the pledges, the bread and 
the wine, but by the operation of the Holy Ghost. 1 
Cor. 10 : 16. 

b) That the merit which He secured for us by the 
offering of His body and blood unto death is assuredly 
our own. 1 Cor. 11 : 26. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 295 



Question 80. 

What difference is there between the Lord's Supper and the Popish 
■mass t 

The Lord's Supper testifies to us that we have a full pardon of all 
sin by the only sacrifice of Jesus Christ, which he himself has once 
accomplished on the cross ; and that we by the Holy Ghost are 
ingrafted into Christ, who, according to his human nature, is now 
•not on earth, but in heaven, at the right hand of God his father, 
and will there be worshipped by us : — but the mass teaches that the 
living and the dead have not the pardon of sins, through the suffer- 
ings of Christ, unless Christ is also daily offered for them by the 
priests; and further, that Christ is bodily under the form of bread 
and wine, and therefore is to be worshipped in them ; so that the 
mass, at bottom, is nothing else than a denial of the one sacrifice 
and sufferings of Jesus Christ, and an accursed idolatry. 

The word mass comes from the Latin missa, a word 
which was used in the ancient Church, when the ser- 
vice, at which the unbaptized were also permitted to be 
present, was ended, and the celebration of the holy 
supper was to begin, and at the pronunciation of which 
the former departed. It means the same as : The con- 
gregation is dismissed. 

1. The Romish mass is a mutilation of the Lord's 
Supper, as it is celebrated by the priest only, without 
the participation of others. 

2. It is a denial of the only sacrifice of Christ on the 
cross, because it is to be a continual, i. e., a daily offered 
bloodless sacrifice of Christ, and thereby a repetition 
of the bloody sacrifice of Christ. 

3. Simple attendance upon the mass is said to be 
sufficient for the forgiveness of sins, while Christ 
demands repentance and conversion of the heart. 

4. The mass is said to bring this benefit not only to 
the living, but also to the dead, for whom one is to 
have performed the so-called masses for departed souls, 
for which the priest is paid a fixed fee. 



296 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



5. Bat the most shocking part is, that as soon as the 
wafer has been consecrated by the priest, the congre- 
gation falls upon its knees, offering to it the divine 
honor of adoration, on the ground that the same has 
now been transformed into the body of Christ, and that 
Christ is bodily present in the receptacle in which the 
host is preserved. Especially on this account is the mass 
called an " idolatry." And with what fanaticism the 
worship of the mass and its errors fills the hearts and 
heads of those who believe in it, may be seen in con- 
nection with the chief festival of the mass, that of Cor- 
pus Christi, when those of a different faith are com- 
pelled to uncover their heads before the consecrated 
wafer, and that often in the most violent manner. An 
evangelical Christian who does this, becomes thereby a 
participant of the sins of others. 1 John 5 : 21, 1 Cor. 
10: 14. 

6. The Word of God opposes in the clearest manner 
such a misrepresentation of the sacrifice of Christ and 
of the holy supper as takes place in the teaching con- 
cerning the mass. Heb. 10 : 10, 12, 14; 8 : 1. 

7. In support of the concluding sentence of the 
80th Question, the two following verses are cited in the 
oldest editions of the Catechism. Dan. 11 : 38, 39, 
" But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces ; 
and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour 
with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and 
pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strong 
holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge 
and increase with glory ; and he shall cau^e them to 
rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain." 
Deut. 27 : 15, " Cursed be the man that maketh any 
graven or molten image, an abomination unto the Lord, 
the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it 
in a secret place. And all the people shall answer and 
say, Amen." 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 297 



8. Objection has been brought against the catechism, 
that in the last sentence of the 80th Question too severe 
expressions are used. In the Smalkald Articles (Part 

2, Article 2) Luther speaks of the " mass of the 
papacy" as " the greatest and most monstrous abomina- 
tion" and " the extreme of all papal idolatries." 
"Above all these has this dragon's tail, the mass, pro- 
duced a horde of pests and manifold idolatries." (For 
the understanding of " dragon's tail," refer to Rev. 12 : 

3, 4, and 20 : 2.) " Therefore we are and shall forever 
remain separate and opposed to each other. They 
know well that where the mass is dropped, the papacy 
falls ; and before they will allow that, they will kill us 
all wherever it is possible." (This was apropos not 
only to those times.) What Luther says here in the 
Smalkald Articles, a confession of the Lutheran Church, 
in reference to the mass, is in substance the same as 
the statements in the Heidelberg Catechism, but the 
expressions are unquestionably much stronger than they 
are in the latter. 

Question 81. 

For whom is the Lord's Supper instituted f 

For those who are truly sorrowful for their sins, and yet trust 
that these are forgiven them for the sake of Christ ; and that their 
remaining infirmities are covered by his passion and death ; and who 
also earnestly desire to have their faith more and more strengthened, 
and their lives more holy ; but hypocrites, and such as turn not to 
God with sincere hearts, eat and drink judgment to themselves. 

Questions 81 and 82 belong together to the extent 
to which the first requires self-examination and the 
second Church discipline as a preparation for the cele- 
bration of the Lord's Supper. 

I. Worthy Communicants. 
1. Because the Lord's Supper is no mere external 
eating and drinking, there belongs to a worthy partici- 
pation of the same an inner preparation. 
26 



298 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



2. The worthiness of the communicants does not con- 
sist in their own merits, but in the right condition of 
the inward man. 1 Cor. 11: 28, " But let a man 
examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and 
drink of that cup." This means : Let him search his 
own heart and conscience, whether he is sorry for his 
sins, whether he believes on Christ, and whether he 
earnestly purposes to reform his life. 1 Cor. 11 : 26, 
" For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, 
ye do show the Lord's death till he come." This 
means : You are thereby to be reminded that Christ, 
on account of your sins, suffered death, and, therefore, 
ye are to hate sin ; and that by His death He has paid 
for your sins, and that by the power of His death your 
old man is to be mortified. 

3. The first thing necessary is that they be " truly 
sorrowful for their sins." This takes place when in 
childlike fear they learn to recognize not only their 
sins, while meditating upon the sum of the divine law 
(compare Question 4), but also their condemnation 
while reflecting upon the curse of the law (compare 
Questions 10 and 11). Ps. 51 : 17. 

4. The second thing necessary is that in connection 
with this acknowledgment of their sins they " yet trust 
that these are forgiven them for the sake of Christ ; and 
that their remaining infirmities are covered by His 
passion and death." Their sins consist in the trans- 
gressions and neglects of the divine commandments. 
The remaining infirmity is our inability to do the good, 
which fills us with pain. 1 John 1 : 7, 2 Cor. 13 : 5. 

5. The third thing necessary is that they " also ear- 
nestly desire to have a) their faith more and more 
strengthened and b) their lives more holy." 

a) Upon a sincere and strict self-examination, our 
faith, i. e., our trust in the merits of Christ, is always 
found to be weak. It is strengthened by diligent 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 299 



prayer to God for the Holy Ghost, and by the use of 
the means through which God produces and confirms 
faith, viz., by hearing, reading and meditating upon 
the divine word and by the use of the holy supper 
(compare Question 65). Luke 17: 5. 

b) The forgiveness of sins assured to us in the holy 
supper is to incite us more and more to renounce and 
resist sin, by making our lives, i. e., our conduct, holy. 
2 Tim. 2 : 19. 

II. Unworthy Communicants. 

1. The impenitent are those who do not heartily 
wish to repent and be converted. Rom. 2 : 5. 

2. Hypocrites are those who have only the appear- 
ance of being converted, and thereby deceive them- 
selves and others, as well as those who sometimes wish 
to side with Christ and at other times with the world. 
1 Cor. 10 : 21. 

3. The Apostle Paul, 1 Cor. 11, rebukes especially 
uncharitableness, by which the Church makes itself 
guilty of an unworthy communion of the holy supper, 
and which manifests itself in discord, in selfishness and 
in the despising of others. 1 Cor. 11 : 16-22. 

4. The unworthy eating of the Lord's Supper is fol- 
lowed by a judgment of God. 1 Cor. 11 : 29 : " He 
that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and 
drinketh damnation to himself (a judgment or sentence 
of God), because he does not discern the Lord's body 
(because he treats slightingly, like ordinary bread, the 
consecrated bread which is offered to him as a divine 
token and seal of the crucified body of Christ, and, 
therefore, called by Paul the body of Christ). But by 
judgment is, however, not to be understood eternal dam- 
nation, as is to be seen from the following : v. 30-32, 
" For this cause (on account of the unworthy eating 
occurring in the congregation) many are weak and 
sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would 



300 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



judge ourselves (in self-examination), we should not be* 
judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of* 
the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the 
world, but might yet be brought to sincere repentance 
of heart. 

5. As a guide to self-examination, preparatory ser- 
vices are held in the Reformed Church, a divine ser- 
vice preceding the communion, generally on the day 
before. Yet it is well to take into consideration 
preparation several days before, and also after the com- 
munion especially to thankfully remember the same.* 
The preparatory service as a Church regulation appears 
already in the first edition of the Palatinate Directory 
of Worship (1563). 

6. In the celebration of the holy supper we are to 
appear 

a) With outward propriety, in that, as is becoming 
in divine service, we avoid negligence as well as 
extravagance in dress, and during the celebration do 
not allow ourselves to be distracted ; 

b) With inner devoutness, in that we fix our hearts 
wholly upon the Lord Jesus and reflect upon the 
exalted blessings which are secured by Him, and which 
are confirmed and sealed unto us at His table. Let it 
be insisted on that, according to the old custom of our 
Reformed Church, the communicants appear in simple 
black, or at least in dark clothing, and that bright gar- 
ments be avoided. It was always touching and edify- 
ing to me when in the early Reformed country congre- 
gations of my Palatinate home the women came to the 
Lord's table dressed in black and wearing a plain white 
hood, and the men in dark clothing, wearing a long, 
single-breasted coat, with a staff under the left arm and 

* See the meditations and prayers in my hand-book for commu- 
nicants, " The Communion Table. A Hand-Book for the Children 
of God." Bielefeld and Leipzig, Belhagen and Klasing, 1868. 



THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 301 



the hymn book in the hand. It reminded me of the 
first Passover which Israel ate, Ex. 12 : 11, prepared 
to be eaten as " in haste." 

Question 82. 

Are they also to be admitted to this supper, who, by confession and 
life, declare themselves infidels and ungodly f 

No ; for by this the covenant of God would be profaned, and his 
wrath kindled against the whole congregation ; therefore it is the 
duty of the Christian Church, according to the appointment of 
Christ and his apostles, to exclude such persons by the keys of the 
kingdom of heaven, until they show amendment of life. 

1. In view of the idea of self-discipline being associ- 
ated with self-examination, hypocrites and unbelievers, 
whose true character cannot be discerned, are to be 
warned to absent themselves from the holy supper. 
On the contrary, by the discipline of the Church those 
members of the congregation who show themselves to 
be skeptical in their faith and ungodly in their lives, 
are to be excluded from the communion in a regular 
way by Church discipline. 

2. These are excluded, in that they are forbidden to 
participate in the Lord's Supper ; and if they still per- 
sist, they are not allowed to do so. 1 Cor. 5 : 11. 
Matt. 7 : 6, " Give not that which is holy unto the 
dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they 
trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend 
you." " That which is holy" and " the pearls" are 
God's holy word of grace and the holy sacraments 
entrusted to the Church ; the impure and malicious are 
compared to dogs and swine, which, according to the 
law, were impure animals. 

3. By the exclusion of unbelievers and the wicked, 
two evils are to be averted. 

a) That the covenant of God may not be profaned. 
The covenant of God relates not only to the individual, 



302 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



but also to the congregation as a whole, and the Lord's 
Supper is the covenant meal. Ps. 50 : 16. 

b) That His wrath may not be kindled against the 
whole congregation, when it tolerates laxity of disci- 
pline in faith and practice. 1 Cor. 11 : 30, " For this 
cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many 
sleep." Weak and sickly may be understood either 
bodily or spiritually, or in both senses. " To sleep" in 
the former sense is equivalent to being dead, in the lat- 
ter without living faith. Compare 1 Cor. 10 : 1-5. 

4. Exclusion is based upon the " regulation of Christ 
and His Apostles." 

a) The regulation of Christ. Matt. 18 : 15-17. 

b) The regulation of the Apostles. Tit. 3 : 10, 
2 Thess. 3 : 6, 14, 15. 

5. Exclusion from the supper is only for a time, i. e., 
until the excluded one gives evidence of a better life. 
2 Cor. 2 : 6. 

6. Exclusion takes place only through the appointed 
officers of the Church. Matt. 16 : 19. 

OF THE POWER OF THE KEYS. 
Question 83. 

What are the keys of the kingdom of heaven t 

The preaching of the holy gospel, and Christian discipline, or the 
excommunication out of the Christian Church ; by these two, the 
kingdom of heaven is opened to believers, and shut against unbe- 
lievers. 

1. Christian discipline is not to be limited to the 
communion only, but extends further, and is exercised 
by the preaching of the Gospel and by the exclusion 
from the communion of the Church, either for a time 
or permanently (the lesser or the greater ban). 

2. " The office of the keys." This designation is 
figurative, and is based upon the practice in connection 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 303 



with the installation of earthly stewards or administra- 
tors who are entrusted with keys as a sign of the 
authority with which they are invested. The office of 
" the keys" in the Church rests upon the commission 
and authority which Christ gave first to Peter (Matt. 
16 : 19), and in like manner to all the Apostles (Matt. 
18 : 18, John 20 : 23), and thereby also to their suc- 
cessors in the office, in the government of the Church 
and congregation. Matt. 16: 19 ; 18 : 18, John 20 : 
22, 23. 

3. The means of Church discipline can be only of a 
spiritual, and not of a civil character. 2 Cor. 10 : 4-6. 

Question 84. 

Sow is the kingdom of heaven opened and shut by the preaching of 
the holy gospel f 

Thus : when, according to the command of Christ, it is declared 
and publicly testified to all and every believer, that whenever they 
receive the promise of the gospel by a true faith, all their sins are 
really forgiven them of God, for the sake of Christ's merits ; and, on 
the contrary, when it is declared and testified to all unbelievers, and 
such as do not sincerely repent, that they stand exposed to the wrath 
of God and eternal condemnation, so long as they are unconverted ; 
according to which testimony of the gospel God will judge them, 
both in this and the life to come. 

I. The Opening of the Kingdom of Heaven Through Preaching. 

The kingdom of heaven is opened and closed, not by 
the preaching of the law, but by the preaching of the 
Gospel, the proclamation of redemption through Jesus 
Christ and an invitation believingly to accept the same. 
" To all and every believer/' i. e., not merely all in 
general ("to all"), but every individual ("every") 
believer is assured of the forgiveness of sins upon the 
basis of the merits of Christ as certainly as if he heard 
the statement from the very mouth of God. Ezek. 33 : 
11, John 6 : 37, Luke 10 : 16. 



304 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



II. The Closing of the Kingdom of Heaven Through Preaching. 

Upon those who do not believe the Gospel when it 
is preached to them, eternal damnation will be visited 
as certainly as if they heard the very voice of God in 
the sermon. The announcement of the judgment of 
God in the sermon is to serve the purpose of securing 
their repentance and escape from the wrath of God. 
John 8 : 24, Matt. 3 : 7, 8. 

III. The Confirmation of the Gospel. 

The great day will make it clear that the opening 
and closing of the kingdom of heaven through the 
preaching of the Gospel is effectual not only for this 
life, but also for eternity. Horn. 2 : 16, Matt. 18 : 18. 

Question 85. 

How is the kingdom of heaven shut and opened by Christian disci- 
pline t 

Thus : when, according to the command of Christ, those who, 
under the name of Christians, maintain doctrines or practices incon- 
sistent therewith, will not, after having been often brotherly admon- 
ished, renounce their errors and wicked course of life, are complained 
of to the Church, or to those who are thereunto appointed by the 
Church ; and if they despise their admonition, are, by them, forbid 
the use of the sacraments ; whereby they are excluded from the 
Christian Church, and by God himself from the kingdom of Christ ; 
and when they promise and show real amendment, are again received 
.as members of Christ and his Church. 

1. " Christian discipline" is elsewhere spoken of also 
as Church discipline. The name already indicates 
that it was not intended as an opportunity for the 
exhibition of the authority of the Church, but is 
intended as a last resort to bring to rejDentance by 
means of exclusion erring members of the Church who 
are no longer benefited by the Word, and thus it serves 
the purpose of spiritual discipline. 

2. The Reformed Church lays great stress upon the 
administration of Church discipline, and the prosper- 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 305 



ous condition of her congregations in earlier times is 
largely to be attributed to this fact. She reckons among 
the marks of the true Church not only that God's Word 
is purely preached and that the sacraments are admin- 
istered in accordance with their institution, but also 
that a godly life is insisted upon, to the preservation 
and furtherance of which Christian discipline contrib- 
utes. (Catechumens ought to be reminded that with 
their admission to the holy supper they take upon 
themselves the obligation to submit to Christian disci- 
pline.) 

3. Those " appointed by the Church" for the admin- 
istration of discipline are the minister and elders of the 
congregation. 

4. Where, after a long neglect, Church discipline is 
again to be restored, it is necessary to act prudently, 
and what the condition of each particular congregation 
will warrant is to be considered no less than that every- 
thing is to tend to the edification and improvement of 
the same," as the Church Directory of Lippe of 1684 
advises, notwithstanding its provision for the strictest 
Reformed Church discipline, even to the point of public 
repentance before the congregation. In this connec- 
tion the directions of Christ recorded in Luke 14 : 
28-30 should be earnestly considered. 

5. Calvin. " If no society, not even a house with 
ever so small a family, can be kept in good order with- 
out discipline, so much the more is discipline necessary 
in the Church, whose condition is to be regulated in 
the best possible way. As the saving doctrine of Christ 
is the soul of the Church, so Church discipline repre- 
sents the nerves and sinews of the same. By these 
the members of the body, each in its place, are con- 
nected and brought into accord with each other. Who- 
ever, therefore, desires that Church discipline be abol- 
ished, or hinders its restoration, whether he do it con- 



306 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



sciously or unwittingly, follows the surest path to bring 
about the complete dissolution of the Church. For 
what will be the result, if every one does as he pleases ? 
This would certainly be the outcome if the preaching 
of the Gospel were not supplemented by personal 
admonition and punishment, and by the use of other 
means which aid the preaching and render it effective. 
Church discipline is, therefore, as it were, a check to 
curb and restrain those who would oppose the doctrine 
of Christ, or a goad to urge on those who lack earnest- 
ness of purpose ; in other instances a fatherly rod, by 
which, after the manner of the Spirit of Christ, those 
who have grossly sinned are kindly chastised. When 
we see in the Church the beginnings of threatened 
insubordination, the very exigency of the situation 
demands a remedy, because in the face of this evil no 
progress can be made in the Church. And the only 
remedy is that which was ordained by Christ Himself, 
and which has been continually practiced by His peo- 
ple, viz., Church discipline. 

6. According to Calvin there are three grades or 
degrees of Church discipline indicated in Question 85, 
which are to be applied in their order, but in serious 
cases the higher without delay : 1. Brotherly admoni- 
tion ; 2. Admonition by those who are ordained for 
this purpose, the presbytery ; 3. Exclusion from the 
Lord's Supper. 

7. The purpose of Church discipline is, according to 
Calvin, three-fold : 1. That the name of God and His 
Church may not be disgraced by the toleration of dis- 
orderly and scandalous conduct; 2. To deter others, 
since a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump ; 3. For 
the improvement of the sinner in accordance with 1 Cor. 
5 ; 3-5, where the Apostle delivers the fornicator 
unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the 
spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 307 



8. To this discipline of the Church, says Calvin, 
there are no exceptions, so that even princes, as well as 
their humblest subjects, must submit themselves to it. 
For it is exercised at the command of Christ, to whom 
the sceptres and crowns of kings must bow. 

Examples of Church discipline of those in high sta- 
tion : 

1. When the Roman Emperor Theodosius the Great, 
who had ordered that 7,000 of the inhabitants of Thes- 
salonica, most of them innocent, be massacred in pun- 
ishment for revolt, wished soon thereafter to attend a 
religious service in Milan, Bishop Ambrose forbade 
him to enter the Church, upbraiding him at the same 
time with his sins. Theodosius thereupon laid aside 
all tokens of his regal dignity, confessed in the Church 
before the congregation his sin and begged with tears 
for forgiveness. 

2. One of the most prominent men in Geneva and 
leader of the libertines, Berthelier, had been excluded 
from the communion by the consistory on account 
of his impious addresses and scandalous life. Upon 
his complaint the magistrate, the highest authority 
in the State, declared this judgment void. Belying 
upon this decision, Berthelier and his confederates 
again presented themselves at the autumn communion 
(1553). But Calvin remained firm and closed the ser- 
mon preceding the communion with the words : "As 
far as I am concerned, ye know well that God has given 
me firm courage, after having implored the help of His 
grace ; and as long as I am here I shall stand firm, 
however matters may turn out. There is no other rule 
for my conduct but that of my Master, and what He 
has prescribed to me is clear and certain to my mind. 
Chrysostom already taught that we should rather die 
than offer the holy emblems to those who have been 
declared unworthy of communion with the body of 



308 THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 



Christ. Therefore if any should presume to approach 
this table who have been forbidden so to do by the 
consistory, I hereby declare in advance, though it be 
at the risk of my life, that I will do what I must and 
what I have been commanded to do." Thereupon none 
of those excluded attempted to commune, but they all 
left the Church. 

Calvin's positive stand with reference to excommuni- 
cation, which was the chief occasion of conflict in 
Geneva, and for a long time stirred the city to its 
depths, is indicated by his private and public utter- 
ances at the time. He writes to a friend : " It is true, 
there is considerable grumbling and dissatisfaction, 
especially among the youth, and here and there the 
poison which gathers in their hearts breaks out openly 
against us. But it all ends only in smoke. They have 
found more courage and determination in us (his col- 
leagues and fellow presbyters) than they expected, and 
all their threatenings amount to no more than the vapor- 
ings of the proud Moabites, of which no one is afraid. 
Should matters even become worse, I shall not be aston- 
ished. Vastly worse rebellions were raised against 
Moses and the prophets, although they were the 
appointed rulers over God's people, and such trials are 
wholesome for us. Only pray to the Lord for us, that 
His grace may not depart from us, and that through 
His strength we may esteem obedience to Him better 
than life itself. O how much more must we be afraid 
to offend Him than to excite the rage of the wickbd, 
and even though I at times fear that the courage of the 
weak and unfortified might fail by reason of their con- 
tinual attacks, yet, on the other hand, I have the cheer- 
ful confidence that the Lord will calm the storms before 
that comes to pass. Hitherto, at least, He has given 
us the disposition to resist the evil, and has granted to 
those who stand by us steadfastness of purpose to 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 309 



endure with us. Only one thing is needful, that the 
good Lord continue to protect and direct His work." 
In a sermon he exclaims, in the presence of his con- 
gregated enemies : " If I followed my inclination, I 
would pray to God to take me away from this world. 
I should not wish to live three days in the confusion 
which reigns here. And yet we would boast that we 
have established a Reformation ! Not servants of God, 
but the blind might be our judges ; for with their 
hands they could grasp our (those of Geneva) worth- 
lessness. And why should I give way to considera- 
tions of self? I and all of us will not cease to do our 
duty in cleansing the home and the Church of every- 
thing that hinders the progress of the grace of God 
among us." 

3. During a campaign of the Huguenot war of 
1586-1589, King Henry of Navarre (later Henry IV. 
of France) betrayed a daughter of honorable Reformed 
parents of the city of Rochelle. Soon thereafter (Oct. 
20, 1587) a battle was fought at Coutras. When the 
battle was to begin, and the king, as it was customary in 
the Huguenot army, was about to kneel down with his 
people for prayer, the chaplain, pastor Chandieu, who 
accompanied the troops, approached him and demanded 
that the king first publicly acknowledge his sin in the 
presence of his army, to whom his offence was known. 
Henry obeyed in tears. To escape the strict discipline 
of the Reformed Church and to rid himself of the cen- 
sors, who had become so disagreeable to his carnal 
mind — it was these which no doubt contributed their 
share to make it easy for him afterwards to apostatize 
from the cause of the Gospel. 



310 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



ON THE DOCTRINE OF THE SACRAMENTS. 

Before the two tendencies in the Church of the 
Reformation, formally separated into a Lutheran and a 
Reformed Church by the adoption of the Formula of 
Concord on the part of the Lutherans, the Reformed 
made repeated efforts to come to an agreement with the 
other party. These attempts had reference mainly to 
the doctrine of the Lord's Supper, in regard to which 
there was the greatest difference ; for as to the doctrine 
of predestination they agreed up to that time. The 
Elector Frederick the Pious labored unremittingly to 
bring about an agreement among his co-electors, and 
the authors of the Heidelberg Catechism followed the 
same course among theologians, governments and con- 
gregations in the German empire, even while they were 
compelled to defend themselves against attacks from 
the other side. Such an attempt at agreement we have 
in Olevianus's " Proposal how Doctor Luther's doctrine 
of the holy sacraments, as contained in his smaller 
catechism, may be brought, agreeably to God's Word, 
into harmony with that of the Reformed Church." 

In the short preface which he addressed " to the 
Christian governments and congregations of the Ger- 
man nation," he directs attention to the fact that the 
persecutions, arising on every hand against the Gospel, 
appealed to them to come to an agreement, and he con- 
cludes by saying : "As for the rest, I acknowledge 
hereby boldly that I do not think of Doctor Luther 
otherwise than as a great servant of God, whom I also 
heartily love, and of whom I shall speak only with 
respect. Neither do I doubt that if the good, honest 
man were still living and were to see this meditation, 
he would be satisfied with it as in agreement with the 
Scriptures. He would also not take it amiss that we 
do that which in the preface to his books he himself 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 311 



asked in the following words : 'Above all I pray the 
Christian reader, and pray for the sake of the Lord 
Jesus Christ, that he read these my books with con- 
sideration and with jugdment, yea even with much 
compassion and sympathy, and remembering that I for- 
merly was a monk,' etc. These are Dr. Luther's 
blessed words. And now since God has graciously 
granted that in the school of suffering the persecuted 
Christians should be favored with further light, who 
would wantonly quench such light and force them not 
to acknowledge the same, since all gifts indeed are 
imparted to us for this very purpose, that without 
injury to anybody they may produce fruit to the honor 
of God and the edification of the Church. Faithfully 
recommending you all hereby to the same omnipotent 
God and Father." 



PART THIRD. 



OF THANKFULNESS. 

The 86th Question, and with it the third part of the 
catechism, which treats of " thankfulness," points back 
to the first part, which treats of our misery, and to the 
second part, which treats of our deliverance (" freely 
given by God, merely of grace, only for the sake of 
Christ's merits"), and in the next place is connected 
with the section on justification by faith alone (Ques. 
59-64), in order to show (in the third part) how must 
be constituted the life of faith as the fruit of justifica- 
tion and sanctification, as well as the manifestation of 
thankfulness. With justification sanctification is asso- 
ciated, for he that is justified is also sanctified, and it 
would not be in accord with the conception of our cate- 
chism to say that the .third part treats only of our 
sanctification ; although indeed it treats of our walk in 



312 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



holiness, i. e., of the holy life of believers, of the life 
and growth of those sanctified in Christ. Good works 
are the effects, consequences and marks of justification 
and sanctification, and to do good works means nothing 
else than to live according to the holy will of God and 
in His communion. Therefore only the regenerate can 
do really good works, and such are not difficult for 
them to do, because they have the power of the Holy 
Ghost. 1 John 5 : 3, Matt. 11 : 30. They are to do 
good works, not to merit anything by them, nor to 
effect thereby for themselves their sanctification, but 
out of thankfulness. 

Ursinus. " True Christian thankfulness, therefore, 
which is here taught, is an acknowledgment and pro- 
fession of our gracious deliverance, through Christ, 
from sin and death, and a sincere desire to avoid sin, 
and everything that might offend God, and to conform 
the life according to His will ; to desire, expect and 
receive all good things from God alone, by a true faith, 
and to render thanks for the benefits received/' 

Thankfulness is shown : 1. In true repentance and 
a godly life according to the commands of God, and 
2. In true supplication to God and believing prayer 
after the pattern of the Lord's Prayer. Therefore the 
third part of the Catechism is divided into two parts : 
1. The Law, and 2. Prayer. 

Question 86. 

Since then we are delivered from our misery, merely of grace through) 
Christ, without any merit of ours, why must we still do good works f 

Because that Christ having redeemed and delivered us by his 
blood, also renews us by his Holy Spirit, after his own image ; that 
so we may testify, by the whole of our conduct, our gratitude to 
God for his blessings, and that he may be praised by us ; also, that 
every one may be assured in himself of his faith, by the fruits 
thereof ; and that by our godly conversation others may be gained 
to Christ. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 313 



Why we Ought to do Good Works. 

1. It is reasonable on account of the benefits we have 
received. 

a) For Christ, by means of our justification and 
renewal (sanctification), has bestowed upon us the great- 
est benefits. He has not only redeemed us from our 
sins by His blood, thereby taking away from us our 
misery, but by the Holy Ghost has also renewed us after 
His own image, and has thus granted us in reality the 
power of a new life. 1 Cor. 1 : 30, 2 Cor. 5 : 17. 

b) The purpose of our justification and sanctification 
in Christ is a life of good works. Eph. 2 : 10, Tit. 
2: 14. 

c) Ursinus. " The benefits of justification are not 
given to us without the benefits of renewal (regenera- 
tion) : 1. Because Christ purchased for us both the 
forgiveness of sins and the indwelling of God in us 
through the Holy Ghost. But the Holy Ghost is 
never inactive. He is always at work, transforming 
the persons in whom He dwells into the likeness of 
God. 2. Because by faith our hearts are cleansed. 
For those who by faith have received the merit of 
Christ, find awakened in them love toward God and a 
desire to show their gratitude toward Him. 3. Because 
God does not grant the benefits of justification to those 
who do not show themselves thankful. But no one 
shows himself thankful who has not received the favor 
of renewal (regeneration) . Neither of the two can be 
separated from the other." 

2. We owe it to God. For by His benefits He has 
brought us under obligation to thank Him. 

a) We prove ourselves thankful to God when the 
whole of our conduct" is made tributary to the service 
of God, i. e., all that we are and have, what we think, 
do and speak, and that at all times. Heb. 12 : 28, Col. 
3: 17. 
27 



314 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



b) Everything in our conduct must have for its end 
the glory of God, and thus He will be " praised by us" 
through our good works, in that by them the grace and 
power of God bestowed upon us will be made manifest 
to others. 1 Cor. 6 : 20, Matt. 5 : 16. 

3. It is necessary on our own account. For by our 
good works we are assured in ourselves of our faith by 
the fruits thereof. We are assured that we have true 
faith, for that is not a mere fancy, a faith of the head 
and lips, which manifests itself as the power of God in 
good works. Good works must proceed from true 
faith, as necessarily as good fruit must come from a 
good, healthy tree. As such a tree cannot do other- 
wise than bring forth good fruit, so true faith necessa- 
rily produces good works. Cfhis does not imply that 
those who are born again do not still commit sin, but 
it does teach that what does not proceed from faith is 
sin. Rom. 14 : 33.) Matt. 7 : 17, 18, " Even so every 
good tree bringeth forth good fruit. ... A good 
tree cannot bring forth evil fruit ; neither can a cor- 
rupt tree bring forth good fruit." Whence then arise 
the sins of the regenerate man ? He is in this life like 
a grafted tree ; the fruit which grows upon the branches 
of the graft is good fruit. If, however, sprouts shoot 
forth from the old stock and are allowed to develop, 
they will bring forth bad fruit, wild apples or wild 
pears. James 2 : 17, 1 John 2 : 3, 4, 2 Peter 1 : 10. 

4. It is helpful to the salvation of our fellow-man, 
" That by our godly conversation others may be gained 
to Christ" (i. e., encouraged to believe on Christ and 
thus to become children of God). This is the demand 
of love toward our neighbor and of duty in respect to 
the extension of the kingdom of God. Our godly con- 
versation is to have a beneficial influence, 

a) Upon those who are united with us in the faith. 
Rom. 14 : 19. 



THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 315 



b) Upon those who stand in any relation to us, but 
are still unbelieving. 1 Peter 3 : 1, 2. 

c) Upon those who are yet hostile to the faith. 1 
Peter 2 : 12. The proverb : verba docent, exempla tra- 
hunt, might in this connection be rendered : Words 
instruct, example converts. 

5. Olevianus. " Good works do not make us either 
wholly or in part righteous before God. But this end 
they serve that, after we are justified, freely of grace, 
through the imputation of Christ's righteousness, we 
may show ourselves thankful to God the Lord by good 
works, so that God may be praised by us, whereunto 
we were created in the beginning and are again 
redeemed. Luke 1 : 74, " That we being delivered 
out of the hand of our enemies, might serve him with- 
out fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all 
the days of our life." They also serve this good end 
that we are assured by works, as the fruit of faith, that 
we do not have a false but a true faith. In the third 
place, that through the influence of our good works 
others may be won to Christ, and that those who have 
already been won to Him may be kept from falling 
away, and be preserved and built up more and more in 
Christ, 

6. The first confession of Basle (1535), Article 9, 
says : " We receive the forgiveness of sins through 
faith in Jesus Christ, the crucified one, and although 
such faith exercises and manifests itself unremittingly 
through works of love and is confirmed by them, yet 
we do not ascribe the righteousness and the satisfaction 
for our sins to the works which are the fruits of our 
faith, but only to true trust and faith in the shed 
blood of the Lamb of God. For we freely confess that 
in Christ, who is our righteousness, holiness, redemp- 
tion, way, truth, wisdom and life, all things are a free 
gift. Therefore the works of believers are not per- 



316 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



formed as a satisfaction for their sins, but only that by 
them believers may in some degree show themselves 
thankful to God the Lord for the great benefit which 
is conferred on them in Christ." 

Question 87. 

Cannot they then be saved, who, continuing in their ivicked and 
ungrateful lives, are not converted to God f 

By no means ; for the holy scripture declares that no unchaste 
person, idolater, adulterer, thief, covetous man, drunkard, slanderer, 
robber, or any such like, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 

1. As good works, i. e., a godly life, are fruits of 
regeneration, proofs of thankfulness, and marks of true 
faith, so wicked works, i. e., an ungodly life, are fruits 
of the flesh, proofs of unthankfulness and marks of 
unbelief. Matt. 7 : 16. 

2. Of open sins and infamous conduct only a few 
kinds are mentioned. Unchaste persons are such as 
violate the law of modesty by unclean words or deeds. 
Idolatrous persons are those who love anything else 
more than God, e. g., money and possessions, or eating 
and drinking (" whose belly is their God, whose end is 
condemnation," Phil. 3: 19). Adulterers are those 
who are not true to their marriage vows. Thieves are 
such as secretly gain possession of the property of oth- 
ers. Covetous persons are those whose thoughts and 
efforts are entirely bent upon the accumulation and 
retention of earthly possessions. (In Col. 3 : 5, covet- 
ousness is called idolatry, for the covetous man makes 
mammon his God.) Drunkards are those who are 
addicted to the excessive use of spirituous liquors, of 
which the most dangerous and ruinous is whiskey ! 
Slanderers are those who dishonor God by the blasphe- 
mous use of His name, and men by abuse and calumny. 
Robbers are those who violently appropriate the prop- 
erty of others. " Or any such like," as for example 
murderers, to which class not only belong those who 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 317 



seriously wound other persons or kill them, but also 
such as live in hatred and slay with the tongue. 1 John 

3 : 15, 1 Cor. 6 : 9, 10. 

3. We are not saved by good works, nor on their 
account, nor are we saved without them ; for where 
there are no good works, i. e., a godly conversation, 
true faith and life from God are also lacking. 1 Thess. 

4 : 7, " For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, 
but unto holiness." And wicked works deserve con- 
demnation. Rev. 20: 13, Gal. 6 : 8. 

4. Those will be visited by an especially heavy judg- 
ment who pretend to have faith and yet dishonor the 
name of Christ by wicked works. 2 Peter 2 : 2, 3, 
Matt. 18 : 7. 

5. Those who do not repent, cannot be saved ; but 
those who live in sin and shame, may be saved if they 
are regenerated by the Spirit of God. 1 Cor. 6 : 11. 

6. On this account, however, no one who is still liv- 
ing in sin is justified in postponing his repentance. 
To-day thou livest, to-day do thou repent ! To-day 
thou art in the ruddiness of health, to-morrow in the 
embrace of death ! Luke 12 : 20, Heb. 3 : 7, 8. 

OF REPENTANCE OR THE CONVERSION 
OF MAN. 

Question 88. 

In how many parts doth the true conversion of man consist t 
In two parts ; in the mortification of the old, and in the quicken- 
ing of the new man. 

( Compare with this Question also the explanation of Question Jf.3.) 

I. The Significance of the Words Repentance and Conversion. 

1. Repentance. 

a) The German word " Busze" (translated repent- 
ance) carried with it originally the idea of restitution 
or of a fee for wrong inflicted upon another. The word 



318 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



was, therefore, also applied to the punishment imposed 
by the court. The word " bueszen" in the next place 
means to close up a breach. Amos 9 : 11, " Close up 
the breaches." It further means to amend a wrong by 
taking upon oneself the punishment of it. In this 
sense the Romish Church still conceives of " Busze," in 
that it teaches that sins are atoned for and, thereby, 
forgiveness obtained by the bearing of ecclesiastical 
penalties, or the fulfillment of specially imposed works, 
like fasting, the performance of stated prayers (our 
Father and Ave Maria, the so-called rosary), alms, 
mortifications, pilgrimages. 

b) The word " Busze" in the biblical sense has a dif- 
ferent signification. It means properly " change of 
mind." Mark 1 : 4, Acts 2 : 38. 

2. The word repentance is derived from " to repent," 
which means to turn about from a perverted way to the 
right way. To repent, therefore, means to turn from 
the way of sin in which we walk by nature, and to turn 
to God and walk in His ways. Zech. 1 : 4, Isa. 55 : 7. 

3. The word " Busze" is used in various senses, at 
one time to indicate sorrow or pain on account of sin, 
then again it includes the idea of faith. In the latter 
sense, repentance and conversion mean one and the 
same thing, viz., inward and outward turning away 
from sin to the living God. Isa. 1 : 16, 17, Acts 3 : 19, 
£ph. 4 : 22-24. 

4. Ursinus. " True repentance, or change of mind, 
or conversion is the change or renewal of man effected 
by the Holy Ghost, by which man, in consequence of 
the true knowledge of God and of His holy will, as the 
same has been revealed in the law and the gospel, and 
of his own corruption and guilt, is made terribly afraid 
on account of the wrath and judgment of God against 
sin, and regrets that by his sins he has offended and 
still offends God ; and yet in the obedience of faith in 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 319 



Christ and with an improved life, rests upon the mercy 
of God and the promise of grace through trust in Christ 
as the Mediator. And because he is certain of being 
reconciled with God through Him, he surrenders and 
subjects himself to Him, as a son to a gracious father, 
and for such acceptance in grace proves himself thank- 
ful to God through eternity." 

II. What is to be Understood by the Mortification of the Old and 
the Quickening of the New Man. 

1. The old and the new man. This is a figure of 
speech. 

a) By the old man is meant the sinful nature of man 
or the inclination to sin which clings to him by nature. 
It is called " man," because it fills and controls the 
entire man in body and soul. It is called " old," 
because it is inherited from Adam (therefore also " the 
old Adam") and is born in us. 

b) The new man is the disposition and inclination of 
man toward the good, effected by the Holy Ghost. It 
is called " man," because it likewise embraces the whole 
man, and must control him in body and soul. It is 
called new, because it stands in opposition to the former 
natural and sinful being. 1 Thess. 5 : 23. 

2. Mortification and quickening. 

a) Mortification is not used in the sense in which it 
is used when anything decays and dies on account of 
sickness or old age. It rather carries with it the idea 
of continuous destruction, of handing over to death, 
and of being subject to it more and more. 

b) In the same way quickening is also properly mak- 
ing alive, with which is connected the idea of increase, 
of growth in life. 

c) The figure is taken from Rom. 6 : 4-6. 

III. Wherein " True" Conversion is Distinguished from False. 

1. As there is faith that deceives, so there is also 
hypocritical repentance. This kind of conversion either 



320 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



does not last or affects the outward life only, for the sake 
of advantage, or which has its motive only in the fear of 
punishment for sin and not in the love of God, or which 
is contented with a mere outward fulfillment of the 
law, while the heart remains the same. Hos. 7 : 16, 
Ex. 8 : 8, 15, Matt. 15 : 8. Examples of false repent- 
ance : J udas, Matt. 27 : 3-5 ; Simon Magus, Acts 8 : 
13, 18-21. 

2. True repentance consists in sincere and heart-felt 
sorrow for sin, on account of which we have offended 
God and have requited His goodness with contempt, 
and affects the whole life. 2 Cor. 7 : 10, Matt. 26 : 75. 
The prodigal son is an example of true repentance and 
conversion. Luke 15. 

3. For the manner and mode of true conversion 
there is no fixed form (as with the Methodists with 
their anxious bench and penitent seat), but it takes 
place in accordance with the will and guidance of God, 
either gradually, as in the case of the patriarch Jacob, 
or instantaneously, as in the case of Saul, but it must 
always reach the point of actual decision. 1 Kings 18 : 
21, Gen. 32 : 26. 

IV. For Whom True Repentance and Conversion are Necessary. 

1. Repentance as a renunciation of sin and the begin- 
ning of a new life is necessary for those who are yet 
under the power and dominion of sin. Isa. 55 : 7. 

2. But because believers still daily commit sin, they 
stand in continued need of repentance, by the morti- 
fication of the old man (in struggling against the sin 
which is still clinging to them and makes them weary, 
Heb. 12 : 1), as well as by the quickening of the new 
man, and the recovering from their constant falls. Rev. 
2 : 4, 5. 

Examples : David, the man after God's heart, Ps. 
51 ; and Peter, the disciple of the Lord, Luke 22 : 
32, 62. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 321 



3. Children, too, must be converted, not although, 
but because they are baptized. They are baptized into 
Christ's death and, thereby, obligated to lay aside the 
old man and to live a new life (Rom. 6 : 4-6, Eccles. 
12 : 1, Prov. 8 : 17). 

Examples of converted youths are Joseph (Gen. 39 : 
9), Samuel (1 Sam. 2 : 26 ; 3 : 10), and Timothy (Acts 
16 : 1, 2, 2 Tim. 1 : 5 ; 3 : 15). 

4. Ursinus. " Our conversion to God is not perfect 
in this life, but is here continually advancing, until it 
reaches the perfection which is proposed in the life to 
come. ' We know in part.' (1 Cor. 13 : 9.) All the 
complaints and prayers of the saints are confirmations 
of this truth. ' Cleanse thou me from secret faults.' 
' O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from 
the body of this death.' (Ps. 19 : 13, Rom. 7 : 24.) 
The conflict which is continually going on in those 
who are converted, bears testimony to the same truth. 
' The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit 
against the flesh,' etc. (Gal. 5, Rom. 7.) The same thing 
may be said of the exhortations of the prophets and 
apostles, in which they exhort those who are converted 
to turn more fully unto God. ' He that is righteous, 
let him be righteous still, and he that is holy, let him 
be holy still.' (Rev. 22 : 11.) We may also estab- 
lish the same thing in the following manner : Neither 
the mortification of the flesh, nor the quickening of the 
Spirit, is absolute or perfect in the saints in this life. 
Therefore, neither is conversion, which consists of these 
two parts, perfect. As it respects the mortification of 
the old man, the case is clear, and does not admit of 
doubt that it is not perfect in this life ; because the 
saints do not only continually strive against the lust of 
the flesh, but they also often for a time yield, and give 
over in this conflict — often do they sin, fall and offend 
God, although they do not defend their sins, but detest, 



322 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



deplore, and endeavor to avoid them. As it regards 
the imperfection of the quickening of the new man, the 
same conflict is a sufficient testimony ; and surely as 
our knowledge is now only in part, the renovation of 
the will and heart must also be imperfect : for the will 
follows the knowledge which we have. 

" There are two plain reasons why the will, in the 
case of those who are converted, tends imperfectly to 
the good in this life : 

" 1. Because the renovation of our nature is never 
made perfect in this life, neither as it respects our 
knowledge of God, nor the inclination which we have 
to obey Him. The single complaint and acknowledg- 
ment which the Apostle Paul made is a sufficient proof 
of what we have just said. ' I know that in me, that 
is, in my flesh dwelleth no good thing,' etc. (Rom. 7 : 
18, 19.) 2. Because those who are converted are not 
always governed by the Holy Spirit, but are sometimes 
for a season deserted by God, either for the purpose of 
trying, or chastising, or humbling them ; yet they are 
nevertheless brought to repentance, so as not to perish. 
4 Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief (Mark 9 : 
24, Ezek. 16 : 61.) 

" But why does God not perfect conversion in case 
of the people in this life, seeing that He is able to 
effect it ? The reasons are : 

" 1. That the saints may be humbled and exercised 
in faith, patience, prayer and wrestling against the 
flesh, and that they may not boast of their perfection, 
thinking more highly of themselves than they ought, 
but daily pray: ' Enter not into judgment with thy 
servant.' ' Forgive us our sins.' (Ps. 143 : 2, Matt. 
6 : 12.) 

" 2. That they may press forward more and more 
unto perfection, and desire it more earnestly. That, 
trampling the world under their feet, they may run 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 323 



with greater alacrity in the Christian course, and aspire 
after those joys that are laid up in heaven, knowing 
that it will not be until then that they shall fully enjoy 
their promised inheritance. ' Set your affection on 
things above, not on things on the earth, for ye are 
dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.' ' Mor- 
tify, therefore, your members which are upon the 
earth.' ' It doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but 
we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like 
him.' " (Col. 3 : 2, 3, 5, 1 John 3 : 2.) 

5. Calvin. "This restoration is not accomplished 
in a single moment, or day, or year ; but by continual, 
and sometimes even slow advances, the Lord destroys 
the carnal corruptions of His chosen, purines them 
from all pollution, and consecrates them as temples to 
Himself ; renewing all their senses to real purity, that 
they may employ their whole life in the exercise of 
repentance and know that this warfare will be termi- 
nated only in death." 

6. Luther's first word in the Reformation reads as 
follows : "As our Lord and Master Jesus Christ says : 
Repent, etc., it is His will that the entire life on earth 
of those who believe on Him should be a steady and 
continual repentance." 

V. Whose Work Repentance or Conversion is. 

1. No man can convert himself, as in his totally cor- 
rupt nature he has neither the knowledge nor the 
power. Jer. 13 : 23. 

2. Conversion in its beginning, as well as in its 
progress, until its completion in the future life, is the 
work of God, particularly of the Holy Ghost. Ezek. 
36 : 26, 27. 

3. When the prophets (Joel 2 : 12, " Turn ye even 
to me with all your heart") and the apostles (Peter, 
Acts 3 : 19, " Repent ye therefore, and be converted") 



324 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



summoned to repentance, their demands were always 
addressed to the people of God, who had the law of 
God to give them the knowledge of sin, and in which 
their sins were held before them by God's Word and 
Spirit. Among the Gentiles Paul always preached the 
gospel before summoning them to repentance, as Jesus 
Himself commanded him. Acts 26 : 17, 18. 

The summons is addressed, according to God's com- 
mand, to all men alike, but conversion follows only in 
the case of those in whom God Himself accomplishes it. 

John 6 : 44, " No man can come to me, except the 
Father which hath sent me draw him. . . ." Rom. 
9 : 18, " Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will 
have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth." Phil. 
2 : 13, " For it is God which ^vorketh in you both to 
will and to do of his good pleasure." The demand of 
the apostle, " work out your own salvation with fear 
and trembling," is based upon the fact that he is 
addressing converted persons, in whom the power of 
God is at work, so that they are active in good works. 
Compare Heb. 13 : 20, 21. 

4. All in whom God by His word and by the influ- 
ence of the Holy Ghost has awakened a desire for sal- 
vation, know that they cannot convert themselves. Jer. 
31 : 18, 19, Song of Solomon 1:4. 

5. Augsburg Confession (1530), Article 5: "The 
Holy Ghost worketh faith where and when it pleaseth 
God, in those that hear the gospel." 

6. Ursinus. "All the elect are truly converted in 
this life, and the final victory in the struggle of the 
spirit with the flesh is not doubtful. For in those in 
whom true repentance has once begun, it never entirely 
ceases, even if they occasionally sin grievously through 
human weakness and through that which in this life 
still clings to them of the old man or of sin, so that 
they are enabled to recover from their fall and will 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 325 



finally be saved. Matt. 7 : 24, Phil. 1 : 6, 1 John 2 : 
19, 3, 9. Nevertheless the will of God in this respect 
does not warrant any one's taking license in sinning, 
nor in postponing his repentance from sin to some 
future time. For to those who do not live in carnal 
security, but in true penitence and piety, the promise 
of the present and the eternal grace of God avails. 
Not only on account of the uncertainty of human life, 
but chiefly on account of the wrath of God against 
those who in self-security and against their conscience 
abuse God's mercy, are they in danger, according to 
the righteous judgment of God, of being forsaken and 
hardened, and of eternal damnation through being 
snatched out of this life without repentance. Matt. 24 : 
28, 24, Eom. 2 : 4." 

Question 89 

What is the mortification of the old man f 

It is a sincere sorrow of heart, that we have provoked God by 
our sins ; and more and more to hate and flee from them. 

Question 90. 

What is the quickening of the new man f 

It is a sincere joy of heart in God, through Christ, and with love 
and delight to live according to the will of God in all good works. 

I. THE MORTIFICATION OF THE OLD MAN. 

A. The Significance of the Word Mortification. 

1. Mortification means to destroy or crucify. Rom. 
8 : 3, Gal. 5 : 24. 

It is thus spoken of, 1. Because it is a painful work; 
2. Because the death of the old man is not brought 
about at once, but gradually ; 3. Because it takes place 
in virtue of the death of Christ. 

2. Die (unto sin), before thou diest (in death), in 
order that thou mayest not die (the eternal death), 
when thou diest (the temporal death). 



326 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



B. The Two Parts of Mortification. 

1. "A sincere sorrow of heart that we have provoked 
God by our sins." The Holy Ghost brings about in 
the sinner, 

a) The knowledge of sin, in that He reveals to him 
sin as sin, and shows him how great it is and how hein- 
ous. Ps. 51 : 3. 

b) In that He convinces him of the guilt of sin as an 
offence against the highest Majesty of God. Jer. 3 : 13. 

c) So that the sinner becomes ashamed of sin and is 
filled with sorrow on account of it. Dan. 9 : 7, James 
4 : 9, Joel 2 : 13, 2 Cor. 7 : 10. 

d) And is driven to the acknowledgment of his sin 
before God. Ps. 32 : 3, 5, 1 John 1 : 9. 

Since all our sins as violations of God's holy law are 
committed against God alone and He only has power 
to forgive sin in Christ, we owe it to Him only to con- 
fess our sins. The confession of such sins as we have 
committed against men, and before men, is necessary, 
in order to obtain forgiveness for them. The confes- 
sion of sins in general, even to men, is advisable, when 
in human weakness the support and prayers of others 
are needed. To this the counsel of the apostle refers. 
James 5 : 16, " Confess your faults one to another, and 
pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The 
effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth 
much." For such confession one is directed not merely 
to the minister, but also to every earnest and experi- 
enced Christian ("one to another"), and so-called pri- 
vate confession cannot be required ; least of all has the 
auricular confession of the Romish Church, which 
serves only to bring the conscience into subjection, any 
ground in the Scriptures. 

2. "And more and more to hate and flee from them." 
a) The hating of sin is the abhorrence of it, not on 

account of temporal shame and injury or punishment, 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 327 



but because God is offended by sin and God Himself 
hates sin. Rom. 12 : 9, Ps. 45 : 7. That in which 
man formerly found his pleasure according to the flesh, 
he now hates. Ps. 119 : 104. 

b) He who is really earnest in abhorring and hating 
sin, also avoids it. He not only avoids trifling with 
sin, as children play with fire, but he also carefully 
shuns every opportunity which might lead him into 
temptation. That which he formerly sought, the pleas- 
ures of sin, he now flees. 2 Tim. 2 : 19, Eph. 5 : 4. 

c) " More and more." The knowledge of sin is the 
beginning of repentance, but the knowledge of our sins 
is not at once complete ; just as we recognize with 
increasing daylight the individual objects about us more 
and more clearly than when the day begins to dawn. 
With growth in knowledge and exercise in godliness, 
the power to avoid and flee from sin grows also more 
and more. Eph. 3 : 16. 

II. THE QUICKENING OF THE NEW MAN. 

A. The Significance of the Word " Quickening." 

1. Quickening signifies to be made alive in the inner 
man by the power of the Holy Ghost, and rests upon 
the power of Christ's resurrection. Col. 3 : 1. 

2. The Holy Ghost quickens the penitent sinner 
and lifts him up, or he would perish in his sorrow. 
Ps. 38 : 4. 

3. Without contrition of heart there is no joy of the 
new life in conversion, and when this state is not 
reached, repentance is onlv partial or not of the right 
kind. Ps. 51 : 3, 12. 

B. The Two Parts of Quickening. 

1. " Sincere joy of heart in God, through Christ." 
a) This is the inward joy of those who have been 
converted, on account of the fact that God's grace, for- 



328 THE HEIDELBEEG CATECHISM. 



giveness of sins and eternal life, have been granted to 
them through Christ. Rom. 5: 1, Isa. 61 : 10. 

b) That which formerly was foolishness to him, 
God's grace and truth, has now become his greatest 

joy- 

c) Joy in God, joyfulness, is not experienced by all 
who are converted, nor to the same extent at all times 
by the same person. There will be hours of tempta- 
tion and times of refreshing. Ps. 42 : 6, 7 ; 138 : 7. 

2. " Love and delight to live according to the will of 
God in all good works." 

a) Joyfulness is more a state of the heart ; desire 
-and love for the good and zeal in good works constitute 
the activity of the new man, the actual proof of the 
sincerity and genuineness of repentance. Rom. 7 : 22, 
Gal. 2 : 19, 20. 

b) That which man formerly disdained, viz., to do 
God's will and to keep His commandments, he now 
regards his highest honor. For to be God's servant is 
to be the Lord's free man. Rom. 6 : 20-22. 

c) A truly converted Christian is in the world, but 
not of the world. John 17 : 11, 16, James 1 : 27. 

Examples of true repentance and conversion : the 
publican, Luke 18 ; the prodigal son, Luke 15 ; Peter, 
Matt. 26 and John 21. 

Examples of false repentance : Cain, Gen. 4 ; Judas, 
Matt. 27. 

See also the penitential psalms : 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 
130, 143. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 329 



OF GOOD WORKS. 
Question 91. 

But what are good ivories f 

Ooly those which proceed from a true faith, are performed accord- 
ing to the law of God, and to his glory, and not such as are founded 
on our imaginations, or the institutions of men. 

In accordance with Question 86, thankfulness for 
redemption through Christ, and in accordance with 
Question 90, the new life of the one who has been con- 
verted and regenerated, manifest themselves in good 
works. 

By good works we understand the entire new life 
from God, as well as its manifestations in single words 
and acts. And hereby again not merely religious and 
other acts are to be understood, which are accepted as 
special manifestations of piety, but all manifestations 
of our personal as well as of our professional life are 
included. 

It is necessary at this point to set forth the real 
nature of good works, not only for these reasons, but 
also to confute the self-constituted and so-called " good 
works" which the Romish Church regards as meritori- 
ous. The word " only" at the beginning of the ques- 
tion, let it be noted, has reference to the three parts of 
the same. 

I. The True Ground from which Good Works Proceed. 

1. Good works proceed " only from a true faith," 
which consists in a certain knowledge of God and of 
His word, and in hearty confidence in His grace in 
Christ Jesus. Heb. 11 : 4, 6, Rom. 14 : 23. 

a) From the right understanding of the truth that 
God requires good works from us. Micah 6 : 8. 

b) From true confidence in the promise (1) that God 
will give to His own, strength to perform good works, 

28 



330 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



Isa. 40 : 29 ; and (2) that our good works, notwith- 
standing their imperfections, are acceptable to Him. 
Heb. 13 : 16. 

n. The Law According to which Good Works are Performed. 

Good works are to be performed " only according to 
the law of God." The law of God has a double pur- 
pose. First, it is to bring us to a knowledge of our 
sins ; for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Rom. 3 : 
20. When, however, we have received the forgiveness 
of sins and have entered upon the new life, it becomes 
to us the rule and guide, in accordance with which, by 
the help of God, we are to lead a life well-pleasing to 
Him. Lev. 18 : 4, Ezek. 20 : 19, Gal. 6 : 16. 

EL The Purpose for which they are Performed. 

Good works are performed " only to His glory," for 
to honor and glorify God is the highest aim of the new 
life. 1 Cor. 10: 31, Matt. 6: 2. 

IV. Errors to be Avoided. 

1. The above three parts in their entirety are the 
necessary attributes of good works ; when one of them 
is lacking, the whole act is of no value. 

2. But especially are we to guard against the error 
that good works are " founded in our imaginations, or 
the institutions of men." 

3. We are not to presume to be wiser than God, and 
to change His order according to our pleasure. Deut. 
12 : 8, 32. God rejected Saul on account of such self- 
willed conduct, and took away from him his throne and 
crown. 1 Sam. lo : 7-23. V. 22, "And Samuel said, 
Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings and 
sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord ? Behold, 
to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the 
fat of rams." 

4. Commandments of men are such as men substi- 
tute for God's commandments, or for which the claim 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



331 



is made that they are in force alongside of God's com- 
mandments, or that they are even more binding. These 
are to be rejected, and works which are founded upon 
them cannot be regarded as truly good and acceptable 
to God. 

a) Such commandments and works God rejected 
already in Israel under the old covenant. Isa. 29 : 13, 
14. 

b) Because the Pharisees practiced such " traditions 
of the elders" and sought honor in good works, the 
Lord rejected them as hypocrites. Matt. 6 : 1-7, 16, 
17; 15: 1-14. 

c) When this old system sought again to fasten itself 
upon the early Christians, the Apostle Paul (Col. 2 : 
20-23) warned them against such doctrines and ordi- 
nances of men, which have the appearance of wisdom 
on account of self-appointed sanctity and humility, and 
by their not sparing the body from all sorts of castiga- 
tions, and by not honoring it enough to satisfy its 
wants. (" Which things have indeed a show of wisdom 
in will-worship and humility, and severity to the body ; 
but are not of any value against the indulgence of the 
flesh.") 

d) In the Romish Church this system is practiced 
through almsgiving, fasting (abstinence from meats), 
the rosary (praying a number of " Our Fathers" and 
"Ave Marias" in succession), and pilgrimages. Still 
in advance of this system is that of the monasteries 
with their so-called " evangelical resolutions," volun- 
tary poverty, chastity, and voluntary, unconditional 
obedience under a spiritual superior. 

e) In the evangelical Church it is also necessary to 
guard against an unlawful system of works by reason 
of the manifold activities of the kingdom of God (in 
home and foreign missions), and in the adornment of 
churches, etc. 



332 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 
Question 92. 

What is the law of God f 

God spake all these words, Exod. 20, Dent. 5, saying : I am the 
Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, 
out of the house of bondage. 

FIRST COMMANDMENT. 
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 

SECOND COMMANDMENT. 
Thou shalt not make unto thyself any graven image, nor the like- 
ness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, 
or in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself 
to them, nor serve them ; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, 
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third 
and fourth generation of them that hate me, and showing mercy 
unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. 
THIRD COMMANDMENT. 
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain : for 
the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 
FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy : six days shalt thou 
labour and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of 
the Lord thy God : in it thou shalt do no manner of work, thou nor 
thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man servant nor thy maid servant, 
nor thy cattle, nor the stranger that is within thy gates. For in six 
days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them 
is, and rested the seventh day ; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sab- 
bath day, and hallowed it. 

FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 
Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in 
the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 

SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 
Thou shalt not kill. 

SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 
Thou shalt not commit adultery. 

EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 
Thou shalt not steal. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 333 



NINTH COMMANDMENT. 
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. 

TENTH COMMANDMENT. 
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet 
thy neighbour's wife, nor his man servant, nor his maid servant, nor 
his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour's. 

I. THE GIVING OF THE LAW. 

1. God Himself gave the law to the Israelites upon 
Mount Sinai, through Moses, the Mediator of the Old 
Covenant, after He had led them as His chosen people 
out of Egypt on the way to the land which He had 
promised them. The giving of the law was the solemn 
ratification of the covenant between God and the peo- 
ple. " God spake all these words" (Ex. 20 : 1) ; it is, 
therefore, the law of God. It is called the law of 
Moses, because God gave it through Moses. God did 
not reveal it to Moses, as He did many other things 
merely by revelation to the understanding, but gave it 
to him by writing it Himself upon tables of stone. The 
importance of the giving of the law was made manifest 
by the requirement that the people should specially 
prepare themselves for it, should purify themselves by 
washing, and should not approach the mountain, as 
well as by the impressive manifestations which they 
saw and heard. 

2. The form of the several requirements of the law 
is either a command or a prohibition, mostly the latter, 
because the law opposes sin. In respect to its contents 
every requirement comprehends both a command and 
a prohibition. In the next place, by the use of the 
words " thou" the people as a whole are addressed, and 
at the same time also every individual member. 

3. The law of the ten commandments which God 
gave to the people of the old covenant is also binding 
under the new covenant. Christ says, Matt. 5: 17, 
18, " Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or 



334 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



the prophets : I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, 
one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, 
till all be fulfilled." (The law is not to be fulfilled 
merely outwardly according to the letter, but in its 
deeper meaning and also inwardly. Rom. 3 : 31.) 

II. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 

The law given on Sinai is also called " the ten com- 
mandments" (decalogue). Ex. 34: 28, Deut. 4: 13; 
10 : 4. The division of the several commandments is 
not indicated in the Scriptures, but that the Reformed 
emuneration is the correct one, appears from the fol- 
lowing : 

1. The conclusion of the commandments reads, Ex. 
20 : 17, " Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, 
thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man- 
servant," etc., and in the repetition of the law, Deut. 
5 : 21, " Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbor's wife, 
neither shalt thou covet thy neighbors house, his field 
or his man-servant," etc. If these were two separate 
commandments, the ninth and the tenth, Moses must 
have erred in the order of the commandments when he 
stated them the second time, which, however, is impos- 
sible. But if they are one commandment, the tenth, 
it makes no difference whether in the one instance 
" the neighbor's wife" and in the other " the neighbor's 
house" be mentioned first. The Apostle Paul, as well 
as all the Jews of his time, recognized it only as one 
commandment, when he refers to it, Rom. 7 : 7, " For 
I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou 
shalt not covet." 

2. From the first commandment, which demands 
worship of the only true God, the second is distin- 
guished, which forbids worshipping the true God 
falsely. It is also specially set off by the threat 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 335 



attached to it. If it had been God's purpose to make 
the threatening and the promise refer to all the com- 
mandments, He would have placed both of them at the 
end of the commandments. Besides, the second com- 
mandment, Deut. 4 : 15-26, was impressed upon the 
people by Moses as especially important. 

3. As the Reformed Church divides the command- 
ments, so they have been divided at all times, even to 
the present day, by the Jews, unto whom, according to 
Rom. 3 : 2, " were entrusted the oracles of God ;" also 
by the Christians of the first centuries, as is proved by 
the Church Fathers. 

A. The Preamble. 

1. As at the beginning of all laws issued by an 
earthly king, there stand the words : " By God's grace 
we, N. N.," in order to give by means of his name the 
power of law to his statements, so God has also placed 
at the beginning of His laws a preamble, which relates 
to all the commandments : " I am the Lord thy God, 
which hath brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out 
of the house of bondage." 

2. Three things are here expressed : The lawgiver is 

a) " The Lord ;" in the Hebrew, Jehovah, i. e., the 
Eternal One, who hath all power of and in Himself ; 

b) " Thy God," who covenants with His people, that 
they should be His people and He their God ; 

c) The benefactor of His people, who by the deliv- 
erance of the people from Egypt manifested His power,, 
as well as His mercy, toward them. 

Accordingly Israel is to serve God obediently and 
thankfully on account of His omnipotence, truth and 
mercy. 

3. The same holds true under the new covenant, in 
which deliverance from the bondage of sin and satan 
by redemption through Christ has taken the place of 
deliverance from the house of bondage in Egypt. 



336 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



B. The Commandments in Particular. 

1. The first commandment has reference to the being 
of God. Because He alone is truly God, therefore we 
are to have no other Gods beside or above Him. Deut. 
6 : 4. This only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac 
and Jacob, has revealed Himself to us in His word as 
the Triune God. This is the significance of the first 
commandment for us. 

2. The second commandment has reference to the 
service and worship of God. 

a) The heathen nations worshipped their gods, and 
still do it by means of statues of gold, silver, iron, stone 
or wood, whichever might serve as an appropriate 
image, or in other objects in which they found a 
resemblance, a " likeness" to one of their gods. These 
images were taken from the " heavens," as sun, moon 
and stars, also birds ; from the " earth," as men, ani- 
mals or plants ; from the " water," as fish or other 
aquatic animals. 

The children of Israel were not to do thus with their 
God, or the worship of God would become a worship 
of idols. Against this commandment Israel sinned 
when Moses was upon Mount Sinai and Aaron in his 
weakness allowed himself to make an image of God, the 
golden calf. The form was copied, it is true, from the 
highest god of the Egyptians, a bull ; but Aaron and 
the people wished, however, to worship the only true 
God thereby. The people said, Ex. 32 : 4, " These be 
thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee out of the land 
of Egypt." And Aaron made a proclamation (v. 5), 
" To-morrow shall be a feast to the Lord." 

The prohibition : not to bow down to them nor to 
serve them, relates to the worship of particular gods 
and to worship in general, or to personal and religious 
worship. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 337 



b) " Jealous," i. e., envious, a God who jealously pro- 
tects His honor and will not share it with an idol. 
Isa. 42 : 8, Heb. 12 : 29. Because He is " almighty 
God," He is able, and because He is a "jealous God," 
He will and does punish the transgression of this com- 
mandment as sin. " To visit" means to go in quest of 
one in his home. God visits a man, either to show him 
favors or to punish and chastise him. (" Visitation.") 

c) From the very threatening of God it appears most 
certainly that the second commandment is a special 
one, and that this threatening relates only to the trans- 
gression of this one. Otherwise the word of God would 
stand in irreconcilable contradiction with itself when it 
states, as in Ezek. 18 : 20, " The son shall not bear the 
iniquity of the father." The Lord will visit and pun- 
ish idolatry among His people, unto the third and 
fourth generation, and will then perchance not rest, 
but will uproot the family in the third or fourth gen- 
eration. The history of the kings in the kingdom of 
Israel furnishes examples. The " sin of Jeroboam" 
consisted in this, that in two places (Bethel and Dan) 
he set up golden calves, that his people might not 
attend the service at Jerusalem, but might there wor- 
ship Jehovah. (1 Kings 12 : 28, the same words are 
used here as in Aaron's time !) The family of Jero- 
boam was exterminated on this account (1 Kings 14 : 9, 
10 ; 15: 29, 30), so also the house of Baasha (16 : 1-3), 
Ahab (21 : 21, 22, 2 Kings 10 : 17), and Jehu (2 Kings 
10 : 30, 31 ; 13 : 2, 3, 10, 11 ; 14 : 23, 24 ; 15: 8-10), 
the fourth generation. 

3. The third commandment relates to the name of 
God. His name is the designation of His Being, there- 
fore no empty word, and sin against His name is 
directed against Himself. " To take in vain" (to make 
unlawful or bad use of anything) translated literally 
means : using the name of God as a lie, i. e., as a cloak 
for a lie, and thereby making God Himself a liar. 



338 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



4. The fourth commandment has reference to the 
Lord's day. 

a) This commandment does not begin : " Thou shalt," 
but : " Remember the Sabbath day." The Sabbath 
was already instituted by God in Paradise, and this 
fact is brought forward at the close of the command- 
ment as the basis for it. By being here renewed, it is 
called to the remembrance of the people. 

b) Sabbath day means day of rest (" Feiertag" (holy 
day), from " feiern," i, e., to keep holy, compare " Feier- 
abend"). It is hallowed, in that it is separated from 
the ordinary purposes to which days are devoted in 
secular work and business, and dedicated to God, i. e. 9 
consecrated to the service of God. 

c) The week has seven days, of which God gives six 
to man and desires only one for Himself. And this 
one day God has especially " blessed" as a day of rest. 
For experience in all ages has proved the wisdom of 
God, in that the seventh day (one day of the week) has 
been found indispensable to man's nature for relaxa- 
tion from labor and for the recuperation of his pow- 
ers, and not peradventure the tenth (one clay of a 
" decade"), as was attempted in the French Revolution 
by the men who rebelled against all God's ordinances. 
They themselves discontinued the innovation, because 
they found that men could not hold out under it. 

d) " The stranger that is within thy gates" was the 
one who belonged to another people and tarried among 
the people of Israel. Not only he, but also the ser- 
vants (man-servant and maid-servant) and the cattle 
were to have part in the blessing of the Sabbath, i. e., 
rest. 

e) God rested, i. e., He ceased to create anything 
new. He " hallowed" the seventh day, i. e., He sep- 
arated it for His service. 

5. The fifth commandment relates to family life, and 
in its wider application also to public life, inasmuch as 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 339 



a people are to be considered an extended family. The 
parents are God's representatives in the family, and 
rulers or government in the state. As there is added 
to the second commandment a special threat, so there 
is attached to the fifth a special promise : long life in 
the promised land. Eph. 6 : 2. With Canaan, the land 
of promise, Christians have nothing to do. It was only 
the type of the heavenly Canaan, which is our land of 
promise. And because the promise carried with it an 
earthly blessing, the Apostle applies the word " land" 
to the entire earth. 

6. The sixth commandment relates to human life. 

7. The seventh to the matrimonial state. 

8. The eighth to our neighbor's property. 

9. The ninth to our neighbor's reputation. 

10. The tenth intensifies not only the seventh and 
the eighth, but also points out how the whole law is to 
be understood, that it forbids not only the evil deed, 
but also the evil desire in the heart. Rom. 7 : 7. 

Question 93. 

How are these ten commandments divided f 

Into two tables ; the first of which teaches us how we must behave 
towards God ; the second, what duties we owe to our neighbor. 

1. The division into two tables or sections was made 
by God Himself at the giving of the law, when He 
commanded Moses to make not one, but two stone 
tables, and wrote upon them the " ten commandments." 
Deut. 4 : 13. 

2. Moses already distinguished the two tables accord- 
ing to their contents, viz., love to God and to one's 
neighbor. Deut. 6 : 5, Lev. 19 : 18. 

3. So also Christ gathered up the law in two com- 
mandments. Matt. 22 : 37-40. 

4. To the Israelite his neighbor was his country- 
man, an Israelite, not only a friendly Israelite, but also 



340 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



a personal enemy (an Israelite), toward whom he was 
to ^manifest love. Lev. 19 : 17, 18 (compare Matt. 
18: 15), Ex. 23: 4. 

But Christ says in the sermon on the mount, Matt. 
5 : 43, " Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou 
shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy." This 
contradicts, rightly understood, the former in no way. 
For here we find contrasted with their countrymen, 
their " neighbors," the enemies of the people, the hea- 
then, the Canaanites and other nations, whom Israel 
was to shun and hate on account of their abominations, 
in order that they might not be led astray by them. 
Lev. 26 : 7. 

On the other hand, the Israelite was commanded to 
love the same as his countryman, his " neighbor," the 
" stranger," who was not his countryman, but who 
dwelt in the land and was obedient to the laws and 
ordinances of God. Lev. 19 : 33, 34. 

Under the new covenant, which is not limited like 
the old by national boundaries, every man who is in 
need of his help stands in the relation of neighbor to 
the Christian, in accordance with the answer which 
Christ gave in the parable of the good Samaritan to 
the question : " Who is my neighbor ?" Luke 10 : 
29-37. • 

5. The question whether the fifth commandment 
belongs to the first or to the second table, must be 
answered according as we see in parents, the representa- 
tives of God, or as we regard them in the light of 
standing nearest to us among " our neighbors." It 
stands as a connecting link in the centre, but must 
belong to the one table or to the other. The catechism 
classes it after the manner of Calvin in the Geneva 
Catechism with the second table, and this is in so far 
also suitable, since only the commandments which 
relate directly to God stand upon the first table, and 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 341 



on the second those which regulate the conduct of men 
in their relation with one another. 

Question 94. 

What doth God enjoin in the first command f 

That I, as sincerely as I desire the salvation of my own soul,, 
avoid and flee from all idolatry, sorcery, soothsaying, superstition, 
invocation of saints, or any other creatures, and learn rightly to 
know the only true God, trust in him alone, with humility and 
patience submit to him, expect all good things from him only ; love, 
fear, and glorify him with my whole heart ; so that I renounce and 
forsake all creatures, rather than commit even the least thing con- 
trary to his will. 

Question 95. 

What is idolatry f 

Idolatry is, instead of, or besides, that one true God, who has 
manifested himself in his word, to contrive or have any other object 
in which men place their trust. 

I. The Prohibition. 

A. The four forbidden sins which we are to " avoid 
and flee ;" i. e. y we are not to be guilty of them our- 
selves, nor are we in any manner whatever to partici- 
pate in them. 1 Cor. 10 : 21. 

1. Idolatry. We distinguish : 

a) Gross idolatry, which consists in the substitution 
of anything else, either in thought or in act, for the 
only true God who has revealed Himself in His Word, 
as an object of divine worship in which confidence is 
reposed. 

a) Among the heathen idolatry in all its forms. 
Rom. 1 : 23, Ps. 81 : 8, 9, 1 Cor. 6 : 9. 

b) Among Christians the deification of nature, when 
the personal living God is rejected and the universe is 
regarded as having originated of itself and as subsisting 
in itself, and the denial of God, when the existence of 
God, who has revealed Himself in His Word, is denied 
and a god after one's own notions is invented. Ps* 
14: 1. 



342 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



b) Refined idolatry, which exists among Christians 
.when they place their confidence in anything else, 
either in thought or in act, alongside of the only true 
God, who has revealed Himself in His Word. 1 John 
5: 21. 

a) Worldliness. 1 John 2 : 15-17, " Love not the 
world, neither the things that are in the world. If any 
man love the world, the love of the Father is not in 
him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, 
and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of 
the Father, but is of the world. And the world pass- 
eth away, and the lust thereof : but he that doeth the 
will of God abideth forever." To this class belong : 

(1) Money and goods, capital or fields, i. e., all mam- 
mon worship. Examples : the rich voung man, Matt. 
19 : 22 ; the rich man, Luke 12 : 19, Matt. 6 : 24, " Ye 
cannot serve God and mammon" (the riches of this 
world). Col. 3 : o, Covetousness is idolatry. 1 Tim. 
6:9. 

(2) Honor among men. John 12 : 43. 

(3) Fine clothing. In Isaiah 3 : 16-23 we have the 
earliest record of the fashions of the day ; but in the 
next verse a statement of God's disapproval. 

(4) Food and drink. Phil. 3 : 19, 1 Peter 4 : 7. 
To the three gods of this world, the lust of the flesh, 

the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, the following 
admonition is applicable : 

"Courageously cast thy idol down, 
Whether it be gold, lust or renown." 

(M. Claudius.) 

b) Hero worship : 

(1) An excessive reverence of great men, such as 
scholars, statesmen and warriors. (Compare the fool- 
ish conduct of the jDeople at Lystra and the apostles' 
remonstrance, Acts 14 : 11-15.) 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 343 



(2) The over-estimation of distinguished and power- 
ful patrons (Jer. 17 : 5, " Cursed be the man that trust- 
eth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart 
departeth from the Lord"). 

(3) Deification of princes and kings on the impious 
principle that the service of princes takes precedence 
of God's service. Ps. 146 : 3. 

(4) Excessive love to our nearest relatives, man, wife 
or children (blind partiality). Matt. 10 : 37, Luke 
14: 26. 

c) Self-deification. 

(1) Confidence in health and strength. Ps. 103 : 
15, 16. 

(2) Beauty. Isa. 14: 11. 

(3) Understanding, art and knowledge. Prov. 3 : 5. 

(4) The so-called " good heart" and its virtues. Prov. 
28: 26. 

d) The Reformers classified with these idolatries (1) 
the mass (compare Question 80), to which Luther also 
applied the words in Daniel 11 : 38, 39, and (2) the 
(infallible) Pope, who is honored by men prostrating 
themselves before him and kissing his red slipper (as 
is honored no prince in Christendom), to whom 2 Thess. 
2 : 4 has been applied. 

2. Sorcery. By sorcery is to be understood an effort 
to ascertain, by ways or means which have not been 
ordained by God, what He has hidden, or to attain 
what He has denied us. The former is done by means 
of fortune telling (from the lines of the hand, from coffee 
grounds, by cards, casting bullets on New Year's eve, 
etc.) ; the latter is done by means of so-called sympa- 
thetic cures, or pow-vowing, in which all manner of 
objects are made use of in connection with special cere- 
monies. These are remnants of ancient paganism, 
which have survived among Christians to the present 
day. Much of it is deception, but it is not to be denied 



344 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



that there is also a kingdom of darkness, with its prince 
and its powers of darkness, whose operations are not 
only spiritual, but extend into the region of the physi- 
cal life. So much must be accepted, even though 
through a heated imagination and foolish delusions 
much mischief has been done in times past, on account 
of so-called " compacts with the devil," and through 
" persecutions of witches," and though many who give 
themselves to these things do not realize what a wicked 
work they thereby carry on. In modern times sorcery 
has assumed new forms in addition to those prevalent 
in ancient times, such as the moving of tables, spirit- 
rapping, the calling up of spirits, and the whole pro- 
ceeding of " spiritualism" with its media. Deut. 18 : 
9-12, " When thou art come into the land which the 
Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do 
after the abominations of those nations. There shall 
not be found among you any one that maketh his son 
or his daughter to pass through the fire (this refers to 
human sacrifices offered to Moloch), one that useth 
divination (one who boasts of special understanding 
with a spirit, Acts 16 : 16), or an observer of times 
(one who chooses for his affairs in a superstitious man- 
ner certain days and times as specially fortunate, and 
avoids so-called " days of misfortune"), one that prac- 
tiseth augury (one who pretends to read in the cry or 
flight of birds fortune or misfortune), or an enchanter, 
or a sorcerer (who employ magic formulas), or a con- 
suiter with a familiar spirit (one who superstitiously 
foretells the destiny of others), or a wizard (one who 
interprets as signs all sorts of intimations, such as the 
meeting of animals, etc.), or a necromancer (one who 
calls up the spirits of the dead, as did the witch of 
Endor at the request of Saul, 1 Sam. 28, and as do the 
modern spiritualists, whether they be deceivers or 
deceived) . 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 345 



3. Superstitious blessings ; the use of mysterious 
formulas, objects consecrated, or in the Romish Church 
sprinkled with holy water, as sprinkling sticks, etc., to 
which is attributed the power of preserving man and 
animals from sickness or from being " bewitched." To 
this class also belongs that kind of formal consecration, 
which is believed to impart to lifeless objects, such as 
altars, crucifixes, candles, organs, bells and other church 
utensils, a special sanctity, by pronouncing the name of 
the Triune God, and by making the sign of the cross 
over them. The Church of the Gospel must keep itself 
free from such practices, even in their more moder- 
ate form. For there can be no consecration of church 
property, such as church buildings and their accesso- 
ries, cemeteries, etc., other than that of publicly setting 
them apart, in the presence of the whole congregation, 
to their appointed uses. A church is " dedicated" by 
the first service that is held in it, and a cemetery by 
the word of God which is proclaimed at the first burial 
in it. 1 Tim. 4 : 5, " For it is sanctified through the 
word of God and prayer" (but not by holy water and 
by making the sign of the cross). 

4. Invocation of saints and of other creatures. In 
the Romish Church the dead who have been canonized 
by the Pope, at whose head stands the Virgin Mary as 
the " Mother of God" and " queen of heaven," as well 
as certain angels, especially the " guardian angels," are 
not only " invoked" for the sake of their help and 
intercession with God, but are also worshipped, in that 
altars are erected and divine services are addressed to 
them. Their " invocation" is already a violation of the 
first commandment ; still more their " adoration," 
which, although theoretically rejected by the Church, 
is actually tolerated among the Catholic people. In 
the Romish Church the worship of God is passing 
more and more into Mariolatry, which was especially 

'29 



346 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



brought into favor by the Jesuits, and by which senti- 
mental souls in the Evangelical Church are very fre- 
quently taken captive. Jer. 44 : 17, " But we will cer- 
tainly perform every word that is gone forth out of our 
mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and 
to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, 
we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the 
cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem : for 
then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw 
no evil." So spake to the prophets the idolatrous men 
of Judah, who had been led astray by their wives to the 
worship of the " queen of heaven." Matt. 4 : 10, Acts 
10 : 25, 26, Eev. 19 : 10. 

B. "As sincerely as I desire the salvation of my own 
soul." God will not suffer to go unpunished such 
transgressions of His commandments, which affect His 
majesty and honor. They involve the loss of happi- 
ness and salvation. Jer. 17 : 5, Rev. 22 : 15. 

II What Is Commanded. 

A. The eight virtues that are enjoined. 

1. The right knowledge of God : "And learn rightly 
to know the only true God." The source of this 
knowledge is the Holy Scriptures alone, in which the 
only true God has revealed Himself. The knowledge 
is of the right kind, if it is a living knowledge, i. e., if 
it is not merely apprehended by the understanding, but 
is also practiced in life. Jer. 9 : 23, 24, John 17 : 3. 

2. Confidence in God — " Trust in him alone" — is 
based on the knowledge that He alone is mighty, faith- 
ful and true, and is the firm assurance that what He 
has promised to us, He also can and will fulfill. Ps. 
62: 11, Isa. 26: 4, Ps. 118: 8. 

3. " With humility." Only he can trust in God who 
is conscious of his weakness to help himself, and, there- 
fore, does not at all rely on himself, and at the same 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 347 



time recognizes his un worthiness, on account of which 
he can not lay claim to anything. 1 Peter 5 : 5. 

4. "And patience." Patience is the continuance in 
confidence in God, even at times and in circumstances 
when it appears as if God had forgotten us, or was giv- 
ing us rather the opposite of that which we have asked 
and expect from Him. Ps. 27 : 14 ; 62 : 1, Heb. 10 : 
36. 

5. Hope, in which we " expect all good things from 
him only" (i. e., confidently await them). Hope is 
directed to that which lies in the future, and is, there- 
fore, for the time being not yet apparent, although seen 
and laid hold of as present. James 1 : 17, Rom. 5 : 5. 

6. The love of God : " Love Him with all my heart." 
Love is the surrender of the heart to another. God 
alone claims " our whole heart," i. e., undivided love. 
Prov. 23 : 26, " My son, give me thine heart, and let 
thine eyes delight in my ways" (the real surrender of 
the heart to God is shown in this, that we walk in 
God's ways, i. e., His commandments). Ps. 18 : 1, 2. 

7. The fear of God : " Fear him with my whole 
heart." This is no servile fear of punishment, but the 
recognition of the endless Majesty of God, by which 
He stands over us, in order that we may humble our- 
selves before Him, even when He mercifully con- 
descends to us. Ps. 34 : 9, Gen. 18 : 27. 

8. The honor or glorification of God : " Glorify him 
with my whole heart." Knowing that God alone gives 
us all good, and works all good in us, we are to glorify 
Him for the same by acknowledging His mercy, and by 
testifying thereto in word and deed. Jer. 13 : 16, Ps. 
29: 2. 

B. As the prohibition is introduced with the threat : 
"As sincerely as I desire the salvation of my own soul," 
so the conclusion of the commandment points us to the 
greatness of the love, fear and honor which we owe to 



348 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



the only true God, " so that I renounce and forsake all 
creatures, rather than commit even the least thing con- 
trary to his will." 

1. There can be nothing in the world that we may 
love, fear or honor, so as, thereby, to elevate it above 
God and His commandments ; in our love, fear and 
honor God must have the preference in all things — 
Love, Luke 14 : 26 ; Fear, Matt. 10 : 28 ; Honor, Acts 
5: 29; " Renounce all creatures," Ps. 73: 23-26. 
The proverb is : " God satisfies." 

2. Examples. Abraham at the sacrifice of Isaac, 
Gen. 22 ; Moses in Egypt, Heb. 11 : 25; Daniel and 
his three friends, Dan. 3 and 6; Jesus in the tempta- 
tion, Matt. 4 ; Paul, Phil. 3 : 4-8 ; the martyrs of the 
first church and the martyrs of the Reformed Church 
in the persecutions of the 16th aud 17th centuries. 

Ursinus says in the treatment of the ten command- 
ments : " The easiest method for the explanation of the 
particular commandments is to separate that which is 
commanded in each one into parts as virtues, with the 
addition of the corresponding vices," as that which is 
forbidden. For the purposes of instruction in schools, 
however, it is better to adhere to the method of follow- 
ing word for word the answers of the Catechism. The 
method of treatment which Ursinus follows is more 
adapted to catechetical instruction and to catechetical 
sermons, wherefore we add in condensed form a sample 
of his method in connection with the first and the third 
commandment. 

Ursinus. 1. " The knowledge of God includes such a 
conception of the being and character of God as agrees 
with the revelation He has been pleased to make of 
Himself in His works and word, and to be moved and 
stirred by this knowledge to trust, love, fear and wor- 
ship this one true God. Rom. 10 : 14, John 17 : 3. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 349 



The vices opposed to this virtue are : 

a) Ignorance of God and of His will, which is not 
to know concerning God, or to doubt in reference to 
those things which we ought to know from the works 
of creation, and the divine revelation which has been 
made unto us. Ps. 14: 2, Rom. 3: 11, 1 Cor. 2: 14. 

b) Errors or false notions of God, as when some 
imagine that there is no God, or that there are many 
gods, as do heathen nations ; or if they do not profess 
this in word, they nevertheless, in fact, make many 
gods, by ascribing to creatures those properties which 
are peculiar to God alone, as the Papists do, who make 
angels and the spirits of men, who have departed this 
life, gods ; inasmuch as to address any one in prayer, is 
to attribute infinite wisdom and power to the person thus 
invoked. Hence Paul declares (Rom. 1 : 23, 25), that 
those who pray to creatures " change the glory of the 
incorruptible God into an image made like to corrupti- 
ble man, and to birds and four-footed beasts and creep- 
ing things." " They also change the truth of God into 
a lie ; whilst they worship and serve the creature more 
than the Creator." The same thing may be said of 
those who profess that they know the true God ; but 
yet depart from Him, and worship, instead of Him, 
an idol which they make for themselves : because they 
imagine the true God other than He has made Himself 
known in His Word. John 5 : 23, 1 John 2 : 23. 

c) Enchantments belong to magic, and consist in the 
use of certain words and ceremonies, according to an 
agreement entered into with the devil, according to 
which he effects what the enchanters ask at his hands, 
when the words and signs have been gone through 
with. There is no efficacy or power in the words and 
ceremonies which are used ; but the devil himself 
accomplishes what he has promised, with the design, 
that these persons may fall from God to himself, and 



350 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



that they may worship him instead of God. The Scrip- 
tures now do not only condemn magicians and enchant- 
ers themselves, but all those who countenance them by 
seeking their direction and assistance. Lev. 20 : 6, 
Deut. 18 : 11, 12. 

d) Superstition. This is to attribute effects to cer- 
tain, or to particular signs and words, which do not 
depend upon any physical or political causes, nor upon 
the word of God. 

e) All confidence reposed in creatures, which is evi- 
dently opposed to a correct knowledge of God, since he 
who places his trust in creatures makes for himself 
mauy gods. Hence God expressly condemns in His 
Word all those who repose their confidence either in 
men, or in power and riches, or in any created object. 
Avarice, or covetousness, is included in this vice and 
condemned. 

/) Idolatry, which is defined in the 95th Question 
of the catechism. There are two forms or species of 
idolatry. One is, when another beside the true God is 
professedly worshipped, or, when that is worshipped 
for God which is no god. The first is the more appar- 
ent and gross form of idolatry, and belongs properly 
to the first commandment. The other form of idolatry 
is when we do not professedly worship another god, 
but err in the kind of worship we render unto Him, or 
when the true God is worshipped in a manner different 
from that which He has prescribed in the second com- 
mandment and in various other portions of His Word. 
This species of idolatry is more subtle and refined, and 
is condemned in the second commandment. Those 
who worship God in statues and images are idolaters, 
notwithstanding they deny that they worship any other 
being beside the true God. 

g) Contempt of God, which is to have a correct 
knowledge of God without being moved and excited 
thereby to love and worship Him. Rom. 1 : 20, 21. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 351 



2. Faith is a firm persuasion, by which we assent to 
everything which God has revealed to us in His Word, 
and by which we rest fully assured that the promise of 
the free mercy of God extends to us for Christ's sake ; 
and is also an assured confidence by which we receive 
this benefit of God and rest upon it — which confidence 
the Holy Ghost works by the Gospel in the minds and 
hearts of the elect, producing in them delight in God ? 
prayer and obedience, according to all the command- 
ments of God. 2 Chron. 20 : 20. 

a) There is opposed to faith on the side of want, 1. 
Unbelief, which includes a rejection of what is heard 
and known respecting God. 2. Doubt, which is y 
neither firmly to assent to the doctrine concerning 
God, nor yet wholly to reject it. 3. Diffidence, or dis- 
trust. This does not apply to itself the knowledge 
which it has of God and His promises. 1 John 5 : 10. 
4. Hypocritical and temporary faith. This endureth 
only for a while. Matt. 13 : 20, Acts 8 : 13. 

b) Those things, on the other hand, which are 
opposed to faith on the side of excess, include, 1. 
Tempting God, which consists in departing from the 
word and order of God, and so to presume upon, or to 
make a trial of His truth and power and to provoke 
Him to anger. Deut. 6 : 16, Matt. 4 : 7, 1 Cor. 10 : 9, 
22. 2. Carnal security, which is to live without any 
thought of God and His will, or of our own infirmity 
and danger, without acknowledging and deploring our 
sinfulness and without the fear of God, and yet to 
expect and hope at the same time for deliverance from 
punishment and the wrath of God. Matt. .24 : 37-39. 

3. Hope. This is a sure and certain expectation of 
eternal life, to be given freely for the sake of Christ, 
with the expectation of a mitigation of present evils 
with a deliverance from them, according to the counsel 
and will of God. 1 Peter 1 : 13, Eom. 5 : 5 ; 8 : 24 ; 
12: 12, Heb. 11: 1. 



352 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



a) That which is opposed to hope, as it respects the 
want thereof, is, 1. Despair, Gen. 4 : 13 ; 2. Doubt in 
reference to future benefits. 

b) As it regards the opposite side of hope, or that 
which is opposed thereto by reason of excess, we may 
make mention of carnal security. 

4. The love of God consists in acknowledging Him 
to be good and merciful in the highest degree, and that 
not only in Himself, but also towards us, and therefore 
to love Him supremely — to desire more earnestly to be 
united and conformed to Him, and to have His will 
accomplished in us, than to enjoy all things beside, and 
to be willing to suffer the loss of all things, which we 
have, sooner than be deprived of His favor. There is 
opposed to the love of God, on the side of want, 1. A 
rejection of the love of God, or a contempt and hatred 
to God. Rom. 8 : 7 ; 2. An inordinate love of self, and 
of other creatures. Matt. 10 : 37. 

5. The fear of God is to acknowledge His infinite 
wrath against sin, His power to punish it, and to be 
willing to suffer all other things sooner than offend 
God in the smallest matter. 

6. Humility is to acknowledge that all the good 
which is in us and done by us, does not proceed from 
any worthiness or excellency which we possess, but 
from the free goodness of God, and so by an acknowl- 
edgment of the divine majesty and our own weakness 
and unworthiness, to submit ourselves to God, to ascribe 
the glory of all the good which is in us to Him alone. 
1 Cor. 4 : 7, 1 Peter 5 : 5, Matt. 19 : 4, Phil. 2 : 3. 

The opposite of humility, as it respects the want of 
this virtue, is, 

a) Pride, or arrogance. Prov. 16 : 5. 

b) A feigned modesty or humility is the opposite of 
this virtue, as it respects the other extreme. Matt. 6 : 
16. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 353 

7. Patience consists in obeying God and submitting 
to Him under the various evils and adversities which 
He sends upon us and desires us to endure, arising 
from a knowledge of the wisdom, providence, justness 
and goodness of God — does not murmur against God 
on account of the sufferings to which these evils expose 
us, and does nothing contrary to His command. Ps. 
37 : 7, 34. 

The opposite of patience, on the side of want, is 
impatience. Thoughtlessness or rashness is the oppo- 
site of patience on the side of excess. 

We may here remark, " that often in this and other 
commandments the same vices are opposed to many and 
different virtues. So in this commandment carnal 
security stands opposed to faith, hope and the fear of 
God ; tempting God is opposed to hope, the love of 
God, humility and patience ; whilst idolatry is utterly 
at variance with a true knowledge of God and faith. 
The same thing may be seen, and should be observed 
in the virtues and vices of other commandments." 

Question 96. 

What doth God require in the second command t 
That we in no wise represent God by images, nor worship him in 
any other way than he has commanded in his word. 

In the first commandment God enjoins that we should 
acknowledge and worship Him alone, and that we 
should have no other gods beside Him ; in the second 
commandment, that we should not worship Him by 
means of pictures or images. 

I. What is Forbidden. 

Every form of idolatry is forbidden. 

1. Especially image- worship, "that we in no wise 
represent God by images." Under which are to be 
distinguished 

a) A grosser and b) a more refined form. 



354 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



a) Gross image-worship consists in making an image 
of God and worshipping it as the heathen worship their 
gods in pictures and statues. Deut. 4 : 23, 24, Heb. 
12 : 29, Rom. 1 : 22, 23, Ps. 97 : 7. 

b) A more refined image-worship consists in form- 
ing false conceptions or mental pictures of God. Col. 
1 : 15, John 14 : 9, 2 Cor. 15 : 16. 

c) The Church Father St. Augustine says : " We 
believe that Christ sits at the right hand of God the 
Father. But no one is to suppose that God the Father 
has a human form, or has a right and a left side, or that 
when one speaks of His sitting, that reference is made 
to a bodily position, that we may not fall into the same 
blasphemy, on account of which Paul declares that the 
wrath of God is revealed from heaven against those 
who have " changed the glory of the incorruptible God 
into an image made like to corruptible man, etc. For 
it would be an inexpressible dishonor to set up such 
an image of God in a church among Christians ; and it 
would be still more dishonorable to cherish such 
thoughts of God in the heart." 

Bishop Hilary of Poitiers (died 368) says : " It is as 
wicked to make an image of God as it is to deny Him." 

The following forms of idolatry are also to be con- 
demned : 

2. The worship of objects, which are represented to 
have been in contact with the body of Christ, as the 
so-called " holy coat" of Treves, nails of the cross of 
Christ, etc. 

3. Ceremonialism, in which the thought is that God 
is to be worshipped in outward acts, such as burning 
incense, removing the hat before pictures, by means of 
processions, etc. Acts 17 : 24, 25. 

4. Meritorious works, when one devotes himself to 
works of the law, as meritorious in the sight of God, 
and minimizes the merits of Christ, or when one wishes 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 355 



to merit salvation without Christ by one's own virtues 
or good works. Gal. 3 : 10 (Deut. 27 : 26). 

5. Lip-service, when one prays and sings and speaks 
piously without living faith in the heart. Matt. 15 : 
7, 8. 

II. What is Commanded. 

The worship which is required of us is " that we in 
no wise represent God by images, nor worship Him in 
anv other wav than He has commanded in His word, 
i. e., worshipping Him a) publicly, in the family and 
in the closet, by prayer and by meditation upon His 
word ; and b) in our public and private life. Deut. 12 : 
32. The command in His word is, that we should 
worship Him in spirit and in truth. John 4 : 24, 
1 Tim. 2 : 8. 

We may also cite the brazen serpent, which God 
Himself had commanded to be set up, for the confirma- 
tion of faith in His promises (Num. 21), but which was 
destroyed by the pious king Hezekiah (2 Kings 18 : 4) y 
as it had been misused for idolatry. 

Question 97. 

Are imayes then not at all to be made t 

God neither can nor may be represented by any means ; but as ta 
creatures, though they may be represented, yet God forbids us to 
make, or have any resemblance of them, either in order to worship 
them, or to serve God by them. 

1. God must not, because He cannot, be represented. 

a) He is spirit and invisible, and nothing in the 
world can serve the purpose, even in a slight degree 
only of symbolically presenting or representing Him. 
John 4 : 24, Rom. 1 : 20, John 1 : 18, Isa. 46 : 5. 

b) Man does not need the help of an image to realize- 
God's presence, as He is Himself everywhere present* 
Acts 17 : 27, 28. 



356 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



c) Objection is made that in the Old Testament God 
appeared, e. g., to Abraham, in human form, and, there- 
fore, might also be represented in human form, espe- 
cially since man also is created in the image of God. 
The reply to this is: 1. That we are no longer under 
the old covenant, where God revealed Himself by visi- 
ble manifestations ; 2. That we have no picture of such 
a manifestation of God ; 3. That the creation of man 
in the image of God is not to be understood of the out- 
ward form of man (Eph. 4 : 24). Acts 17 : 29, " For- 
asmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought 
not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or sil- 
ver, or stone, graven by art and man's device." This 
is true not only of the idols of the heathen, but also of 
the representations which we make in our thoughts of 
the only true God. 

d) It is further said : Christ at least we may and 
can represent by means of pictures, since He appeared 
in the flesh and became in form like other men. To 
this the reply is that we have even no picture of Christ ; 
for the tradition that the Evangelist Luke, who, it 
must be remembered, was not a painter, but a physi- 
cian (Col. 4 : 14), made a picture of Christ from the 
impression of His face upon the handkerchief of Vero- 
nica (which, besides, is not known to exist), is a Romish 
fable. When a painter or a sculptor makes a picture 
of Christ, he does not follow any particular model, but 
rather his own fancy. It may be then " like another 
man," but it is not a picture of Christ as He appeared 
in the flesh. 

2. Not in any sense, however, are the plastic arts, 
painting and sculpture, forbidden to Christians. " Crea- 
tures (all created things) may (can) be represented by 
pictures." 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 357 



For God Himself, already under the old covenant, 
filled men with His spirit and with wisdom to do all 
manner of work and to devise curious works. Ex. 35 : 
30-35. But no abuse is to be made of such pictures, 
" to worship them, or to serve God by them." As 
everything human, so also the plastic arts, which are 
not indebted to Christianity for their origin, are to be 
brought within its sphere and are to be permeated by 
its spirit. We may honor true artists, may find joy in 
their works and adorn our walls with good pictures. 
But in this connection it is also to be remembered how 
much harm is done to the souls of the young and old 
by poor, and at the same time unchaste pictures, which 
excite sensual desires. The young ought to be warned 
sincerely and earnestly against such pictures, in order 
that their imagination may not poison the entire life, 
at an age when the impressions are the most lasting, 
and other temptations may, thereby, become so much 
the more dangerous. 

Zwingli. " Pictures which are not used for purposes 
of worship, or in connection with which it is not to be 
feared that they will be used for this purpose, I do not 
reject ; on the contrary, I recognize painting and 
sculpture as gifts of God." 

Calvin (in the Geneva Catechism) : " It is not to be 
understood that these words reject all painting and 
sculpture ; we are only forbidden to make pictures for 
the purpose of seeking or worshipping God by them, 
or, which amounts to the same thing, to worship them 
to the honor of God, or misuse them, in any manner 
whatsoever, superstitiously for idolatrous purposes." 



358 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



Question 98. 

But may not images be tolerated in the churches, as boohs to the 



No ; for we must not pretend to be wiser than God, who will 
have his people taught, not by dumb images, but by the lively 
preaching of his word. 

1. The use of pictures in churches is defended even 
by the Lutherans, on the ground (to use an expression 
of Gregory) that they are " lay-books," i. e., that the 
common people are instructed and edified by them. 
The Romish Church makes a distinction between the 
" laity" and " the clergy," i. e., between the people and 
the clergy or priesthood, a distinction which does not 
hold under the new covenant. 1 Peter 2 : 9. Under 
the new covenant the knowledge of God is to be 
imparted to all believers in the same way, by means of 
God's word and spirit. John 6 : 45, " It is written in 
the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. 
Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned 
of the Father, cometh unto me." Jer. 31 : 34, "And 
they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and 
every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord : for 
they shall all know me, from the least of tbem unto 
the greatest of them, saith the Lord : for I will forgive 
their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." 

2. In school, pictures may be used to fix the atten- 
tion for purposes of instruction, but in churches, devo- 
tion is disturbed, rather than furthered, by pictures. 
There are " dumb idols," with which to-day yet the 
worst abuses are practiced in large parts of Christen- 
dom. Think of the many " pictures of saints" and of 
the " pictures of the Virgin Mary," which are repre- 
sented as working miracles in all lands, from which 
the laity in large numbers seek help year after year. 
Hab. 2 : 18-20. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 359 



3. " We must not pretend to be wiser than God," 
and, therefore, must not seek any other means of knowl- 
edge than He Himself has ordained. He " will have 
his people taught by the lively preaching of his word." 
Where this is vigorously prosecuted, no other means of 
instruction or edification are needed in the churches ; but 
the more this is neglected, or the people turn against it, 
the more is satisfaction sought in outward things, such 
as pictures, crucifixes, etc. The Church father Hie- 
ronymus already complained (died 420) : " When the 
Church still used wooden cups (at the communion), it 
had golden bishops ; now it uses golden cups and has 
wooden bishops." Let us not be disturbed by the 
reproach that our Reformed churches are " bare" and 
our worship " barren." The most beautiful ornament 
of a Christian church is the " lively preaching of the 
word of God" and a living congregation. Ps. 93 : 5, 
" Thy testimonies are very sure : holiness becometh 
thine house, O Lord, forever." 

4. With the secularization of the Church at the 
beginning of the Middle Ages, pictures were given a 
place in the houses of worship, notwithstanding the 
opposition of many earnest-minded men. Of this we 
still have evidence in the Church father Epiphanius, 
Bishop of Salamis (died 403). 

In a letter to Bishop John of Jerusalem, which Hie- 
ronymus recommends to the attention of the churches, 
he writes : " When we went together to the sacred 
place of Bethlehem, in order, according to Christian 
custom, to gather alms there (a collecting tour), and I 
came into a village named Anablatha, and, in passing 
through, saw a light burning, I asked what kind of a 
place that was. When I heard that it was a church, I 
entered to pray. I found at the church door a colored 
curtain with a picture of Christ or of some saint painted 
on it. I cannot recall definitely whom it was to repre- 



360 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



sent. When I saw hanging in a Christian church, 
contrary to the command of the Scriptures, the picture 
of a man, I tore it down, and gave those present the 
advice that they should rather wrap and bury in it the 
body of some poor person. I pray you to inform the 
ministers of that place to accept from the bearers of 
this letter another curtain, which we hereby send, and 
command, that in the future such curtains, as are con- 
trary to the Christian religion, be not used in the 
Christian churches. For it belongs to the responsibili- 
ties of your office that you should guard against the 
commission of such offences, which are unbecoming to 
the Christian Church and the people entrusted to you." 

Question 99 

What is required in the third command? 

That we, not only by cursing, or perjury, but also by rash swear- 
ing, must not profane or abu?e the name of God, nor by silence or 
connivance be partakers of these horrible sins in others ; and briefly, 
that we use the holy name of God no otherwise than with fear and 
reverence ; so that he may be rightly confessed, and worshipped by 
us, and be glorified in all our words and works. 

Question 100 

Is then the profaning of God's name, by swearing and cursing, so 
heinous a sin, that his wrath is kindled against those who do not 
endeavor, as much as in them lies, to prevent and forbid such cursing 
and swearing t 

It undoubtedly is ; for there is no sin greater or more provoking 
to God than the profaning of his name, and therefore he has com- 
manded this sin to be punished with death. 

I. What is Forbidden. 

1. A name is a word used to characterize a person, 
or an object, visible or invisible. The names of God 
represent 

a) The Person of God (" God," "the Lord," 
" Father," " Son," " Holy Ghost"). 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



361 



b) His Being (" the Eternal," " the Almighty"), and 

c) His revelation in Creation (in the words " heaven," 
the " elements," " thunder," " lightning"), and in grace 
("cross," "sacrament"). 

2. The name of God is " holy," i. e., it is given to us 
only for the use for which God intended it, and, there- 
fore, when it is blasphemed, i. e., when anything 
unseemly or offensive is spoken concerning God, or 
when it is taken in vain, i. e., used falsely, God will 
not look with allowance upon such wickedness, but will 
punish it according to His holiness and justice. " The 
Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name 
in vain." Ex. 5 : 2. 

3. The name of God is blasphemed and taken in 
vain : 

a) By swearing. By this we mean to wish ill to 
oneself or to others by the use of the name of God or 
of His creatures. Likewise it is swearing when the 
name of God or of His creatures is used to express 
anger or astonishment. Swearing is not weakened, as 
is imagined, by changing the oaths so that the words 
have a different sound. 

In explaining this subject to children, one needs to 
guard himself against being the means of bringing 
oaths to their knowledge. It is better to limit oneself 
to such oaths as have already been noticed among 
them, or are known to be in common use among the 
people. Lev. 24: 15, Prov. 21: 10, James 3: 8-10, 
Rom. 12 : 14. 

But has not God Himself made use of the oath, and 
have not the prophets done the same in His name ? 
e. g., " cursed is the ground" (Gen. 3: 17), "cursed 
be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to 
do them" (I)eut. 27: 26), "cursed be the man that 
trusteth in man" (Jer. 17: 5), etc. Such " cursing" 
is the threatening or the suspending over human sin 
30 



362 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



of God's righteous punishment, which punishment 
itself is, on this account, also called a curse. This is 
something entirely different from man's cursing. 

Again, how are we to explain the so-called " impre- 
catory Psalms," which invoke evil upon enemies, e. g., 
Ps. 35, 69, 109, etc. ? In these there is no reference to 
personal enemies, but to the enemies of God and of 
His kingdom, who hate and threaten to destroy the 
righteous on account of their acknowledgment of God. 
They, therefore, pray to God for help and for His 
judgment upon the wicked. 

Example of a swearer : Shimei, 2 Sam. 16 : 5-8. 

b) By perjury. The oath is an affirmation by the 
invocation of God's name. Whoever makes an affirm- 
ation that is not in accordance with fact, either by not 
telling the truth or by breaking a promise, has sworn 
fasely or committed perjury. Lev. 19 : 12. 

c) By unnecessary swearing, i. e., through frivolous 
affirmations, either in statements or promises, by 
invoking the name of God in daily life or habitually. 
Lev. 5 : 4, Matt. 5 : 34-37. It is evident that Jesus 
forbids in these passages unnecessary swearing in daily 
life, and not the oath in general. This is indicated by 
the language in which He refers to the daily life, and 
in which He does not include an oath in the name of 
God. His followers are to be so established in the 
truth that a simple yea or nay, without an affirmation, 
suffices ; " yea, yea, nay, nay," i. e., a yea that is really 
yea, and a nay that is really nay. Misleading expres- 
sions are also forbidden. 

d) Of this character is also the misuse of God's 
name, which occurs 1) When it is spoken thought- 
lessly. 2) When it is used hypocritically in order to 
appear pious, or in the mumbling of prayers by rote. 
Matt. 6:7. 3) When Scripture is used in jest. 

e) By silence and connivance, whereby " we are par- 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 363 



takers of these horrible sins in others," because he who 
listens to and connives at these sins, to say the least, 
awakens the suspicion that he does not disapprove of 
them. Lev. 5: 1, Prov. 29 : 24, Eph. 5 : 11. 

II. What Is Commanded. 

Over against the prohibition stands the command, 
viz., that we are to use the name of God properly, as 
is becoming toward a holy God, and for the purpose 
for which He has revealed His name. Ex. 3 : 15. 

a) We are to use it with " fear and reverence," for 
it is the name of the almighty and holy God. The 
expressions, " our dear God" or " the good Lord," are 
more childish than childlike, and tend to produce 
enfeebling conceptions of God ; they ought not to be 
used. Isa. 8 : 13, Matt. 10 : 28, Mai. 4 : 2. 

b) The name of God is " rightly confessed by us" if 
by the use of it, in the presence of friend and foe, we 
openly show that He is our God, and that we are His 
children in Christ Jesus. We are not through the fear 
of man to hesitate to name the name of God, and, 
instead, speak in a general way about " heaven ;" which 
amounts to denying God and to be ashamed of Him. 
Matt. 10 : 32, 33, 1 Peter 3 : 15, Rom. 10 : 10. 

c) The name of God is " rightly worshipped by us," 
if we speak with Him in prayer, or call to Him for 
help in need. Rom. 10 : 13, Ps. 50 : 15. 

d) The name of God " is glorified in all our words 
and works," when all our words and deeds conform to 
His will and pleasure, and we, who are called by His 
name, show, thereby, that His power dwells in us. 
Col. 3 : 17, 1 Peter 2:9. 

III. The Heinousness of Blasphemy. 

1. There is no greater sin than to blaspheme the 
name of God in any of the above-mentioned ways ; for 
a) It is a personal insult to Almighty God. 



364 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



b) He has pronounced against it in His law the 
heaviest penalties. Lev. 24 : 16. 

c) He has Himself added to the third commandment 
the special threat : " the Lord will not hold him guilt- 
less that taketh His name in vain." 

2. Therefore all — every individual, but especially 
Christian governments, — are bound, as much as pos- 
sible, to assist in preventing this terrible sin and to 
forbid it. (In earlier times it was punished with death 
in Christian countries.) 

Question 101. 

May we then swear religiously by the name of God f 
Yes ; either when the magistrates demand it of the subjects, or 
when necessity requires us thereby to confirm fidelity and truth, to 
the glory of God, and the safety of our neighbor ; for such an oath 
is founded on God's word, and therefore was justly used by the 
saints, both in the old and new testament. 

Question 102. 

May we also swear by saints, or any other creatures t 
No ; for a lawful oath is a calling upon God, as the one who 
knows the heart, that he will bear witness to the truth, and punish 
me if I swear falsely ; which honor is due to no creature. 

I. What Kind of Oaths are to be Allowed. 

The name of God is taken in vain by false oaths or 
frivolous swearing, but neither the third commandment 
nor the sermon on the mount (Matt. 5 : 34-37) forbids 
the general use of the name of God in oaths. A proper 
oath is rather a religious matter, a divine act. The 
question with reference to such an oath is, how it has 
been occasioned and what is its object? 

1. The occasion. Oaths are allowed under two cir- 
cumstances : 

a) " When the magistrates demand it of their sub- 
jects." Ex. 22: 10, 11, Ezra 10: 5, Kom. 13: 1, 4. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



365 



b) " When necessity requires it of us," but only for 
the purpose of maintaining and furthering fidelity and 
truth. The necessity for the oath rests chiefly upon 
the corruption which prevails among men. Ps. 116 : 11. 
But a necessity for swearing without a summons of the 
government in individual cases can be justified only 
when specially important matters are involved, in 
which " truth and fidelity to the glory of God are 
thereby confirmed." Heb. 6 : 16. 

2. The oath must be to the glory of God and for the 
safety of our neighbor. 

a) " To the glory of God." Deut. 10 : 20, 2 Chron. 
15: 14. 

b) To the safety of our neighbor." Josh 2 : 12 ; 9 : 
15. 

3. " Such an oath is founded on God's word" and 
the example of " the saints, both in the Old and the 
New Testament." 

a) "On God's Word." Deut. 6: 13, Isa. 45: 23. 
God Himself made use of the oath. Gen. 22 : 16, Ps. 
110 : 4, Heb. 6 : 17 (v. 16 : " For men verily swear 
by the greater : and an oath for confirmation is to 
them an end of all strife." Therefore God swears by 
Himself, because there is no one greater than He is). 

b) " Such an oath was justly used by the saints, both 
in the Old and the New Testament." In the Old Tes- 
tament : Abraham, Gen. 14: 22; 24: 3; Isaac, Gen. 
26 : 31 ; Jacob, Gen. 31 : 53 ; David, 1 Sam. 24 : 
22. In the New Testament : Paul, Rom. 9 : 1. Christ 
made use of the oath when the government, the high- 
priest and necessity required it to confirm the truth 
that He was the Son of God. Matt. 26 : 63, 64. The 
form of the oath among the Jews differed from that in 
use among us, since the judge pronounced the form of 
the oath, — " I adjure thee by the living God" — and in 
the same way the one sworn, responded to what was to 



366 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



be confirmed : " Thou sayest it, it is so, i. e., I con- 
firm it." 

II. What a Lawful Oath Is. 

" Lawful," i. e., allowed, and to be recognized as 
legal and valid is only an oath that is sworn in the 
name of God. 

1. The lawful oath is 

a) Calling upon God. Isa. 65 : 16, 2 Cor. 1 : 23. 

b) "As the only one who knows the heart" (the all- 
knowing One), who alone knows the secrets of the 
heart, that He will bear witness to the truth, i. e., as a 
witness vouch for the truth of a declaration or of a 
promise. 1 Kings 8 : 39. 

c) As the highest judge (the Almighty), "who will 
punish me if I swear falsely." Deut. 32 : 35. 

2. The oath is therefore (briefly) : the calling upon 
God as a witness to the truth, and as the avenger of 
untruth. 

3. An oath can be taken only before God as the all- 
knowing One (searcher of hearts) and the Almighty 
(judge), and, therefore, not before "saints or any other 
creatures," because to them does not belong such 
honor as is involved in an invocation, which implies 
that the one invoked is almighty and omniscient. Jer. 
5: 7. 

4. When truth and fidelity, to which God is sum- 
moned as witness, are broken through untruth and 
unfaithfulness, under the first circumstances there is 
sworn a false oath or perjury is committed, and in the 
second the oath taken is broken. When in testifying, 
something is definitely affirmed of which one is not 
quite certain, and which subsequently proves untrue, 
one has committed heedless perjury. It is also to be 
considered a false oath when one makes silent reserva- 
tions, by which violence is done to the truth as a 
whole, or when one uses misleading expressions. By 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 367 



such a course Almighty God is mocked. " Rather lose 
money and possessions than to swear falsely." (Pro- 
verb.) Lev. 19 : 12, Prov. 6 : 19, Gal. 6 : 7. 

5. A lawful oath must be kept inviolable, even when 
one suffers danger or loss thereby. Num. 30 : 2. But 
a wicked oath, i. e., one in which a man has committed 
himself to do what is sinful, dare not be kept, because 
it involves a two-fold sin, both in the promise and in 
the act. An example of what one is not to do under 
such circumstances, is found in Herod, Matt. 14 : 7-10. 
On the contrary, an example of the opposite kind, 
which teaches us what to do, is found in David, who in 
excitement had sworn death against Nabal and against 
all his household, but did not execute his oath. 1 Sam. 
25 : 22, 32-34. 

6. The different kinds of oaths. Either a declara- 
tion or a promise is confirmed by an oath ; the former, 
which concerns the " truth," is called an oath of testi- 
mony, and the latter, which relates to fidelity, is called 
an oath of obligation. This again is manifold : the 
oath of submission and allegiance, the oath to one's 
colors, and the official oath ; the oath which is taken 
by the members of an assembly, of the Diet and the 
Synods. A ruler of a country, when he enters upon 
his office, takes the oath of fidelity to the constitution 
of the country. 

7. The outward form in taking the oath. The one 
swearing holds up the right hand, the palm of the 
hand being turned toward the face, to indicate thereby 
that he invokes God in heaven upon his soul. In the 
other cases, when the right hand is raised, the first 
three fingers (the thumb, index and middle finger) are 
extended, and the other two are bent inward, to indi- 
cate that the Triune God is invoked, and that both body 
and soul are pledged. Formerly the left hand was at 
the same time laid upon the Bible. 



368 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



8. At the side of the oath stands the vow, which is a 
promise not bound to any distinct form. Of the highest 
character is the vow by the joining of hands, and the 
pledge " instead of an oath" ; then the vow in general, 
whether it be to God or man. A vow to God is made, 
e. g., in confirmation, a vow before God unto men in 
the wedding ceremony, the promise of marital love and 
fidelity even unto death. Ps. 50 : 14, Eccles. 5 : 2, 4. 

Examples : Jacob at Bethel, Gen. 28 : 20-22 ; Han- 
nah, 1 Sam. 1 : 11, 27, 28. 

Question 103. 

What doth God require in the fourth command f 

First, that the ministry of the gospel and the schools be main- 
tained ; and that I, especially on the Sabbath, that is, on the day 
of rest, diligently frequent the church of God, to hear his word, to 
use the sacraments, publicly to call upon the Lord, and contribute 
to the relief of the poor, as becomes a Christian. Secondly, that all 
the days of my life I cease from my evil works, and yield myself to 
the Lord, to work by his Holy Spirit in me, and thus begin in this 
life the eternal Sabbath. 

I. Sabbath and Sunday. 

1. To hallow the Sabbath means to separate the day 
appointed for rest (Hebrew, Sabbath) from the remain- 
ing days of the week, so that ordinary business avoca- 
tions may be omitted on the one day, and the congre- 
gation may assemble for public worship. 

2. For Israel the Sabbath had a three-fold signi- 
ficance — ceremonial, social and moral. 

a) Ceremonial. 1. It was a sign under the old 
covenant. Ex. 31 : 17, " It is a sism between me and 
the children of Israel forever." Therefore, verse 15, 
" whosoever doeth any work on the Sabbath day, he 
shall surely be put to death." 

2. It served as a reminder of the creation, of the 
departure of Israel out of Egypt, and of the giving of 
the law at Sinai. 

3. It was intended for religious gatherings. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 369 



b) Social. 1. The rest, beginning regularly on the 
seventh day, was to afford to the body and the soul 
necessary relaxation and refreshing, in order that 
man might not succumb under his labors. 2. For 
those who served (son and daughter, man-servant and 
maid-servant, also the stranger, the non-Israelite, and 
the cattle) the command was to afford protection against 
the exhaustion of their physical powers and against 
exaction. The Sabbath was to be a blessing from God 
to the laborer. Mark 2 : 27. 

c) Moral. It was to prevent man's being submerged 
by the earthly life, and to incite him to seek the higher 
gifts of life in communion with God. 

3. Neither were the Israelites forbidden by this 
command to perform works of necessity and charity. 
Compare the plucking of the ears of corn by the disci- 
ples, in order to satisfy their hunger, Mark 2 : 23, and 
the healings on the Sabbath day wrought by Christ, 
Mark 3 : 1, Luke 14 : 1. 

4. All the ceremonies of the old covenant were only 
shadows, types of Christ, and of the blessings of the 
new covenant. Col. 2 : 16, 17, " Let no man therefore 
judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy- 
day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days : which 
are a shadow of the things to come ; but the body is of 
Christ." In this sense is Christ's word to be under- 
stood, Mark 2 : 28, " The Son of man is Lord also of 
the Sabbath." And by His rest in the grave on the 
seventh day, the Sabbath, so far as its ceremonial sig- 
nificance is concerned, has been fulfilled and abolished, 
as well as circumcision, the passover, etc. 

5. On this account the Christian Church was free to 
appoint, instead of the last day (the seventh), the first 
day of the week as a day of rest and freedom, as well 
-as the day on which the congregation was to serve the 
Lord, thus making it the Lord's day. Here also is to 



370 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



be found the ground on which ceremonial days and 
times were set aside with the ceremonial institutions, 
because in many instances the people still clung too 
readily to these externals, and sought help in *them. 
Gal. 4 : 9, 10. 

6. The New Testament furnishes the clearest evi- 
dence that Christians already in the times of the apos- 
tles observed the first day of the week, Sunday, as a 
day of assembly. Acts 20 : 7. (compare Acts 2 : 42, 
46), 1 Cor. 16: 2, Eev. 1 : 10. 

7. As was the Old Testament Sabbath, so also is our 
Sabbath a memorial day (remember the Sabbath day) 
of creation, and of redemption — the former from Egypt, 
the latter by Christ from sin. 

a) On the first day of the week and of the world 
God created light. Gen. 1 : 3, 5. 

b) On the first day of the week Christ arose. Mark 
16: 2. 

8. The social significance of the Sabbath as a pro- 
tection of the working classes against the exhaustion of 
their physical powers has passed over to Sunday. 

II. Religious Worship. 

1. The holy day (i. e., Sunday and other religious 
holidays) finds its chief significance in the observance 
of public worship ; participation in which is a duty for 
the individual, and in turn becomes to him a blessing. 

2. Therefore, it is according to the will of God " that 
the ministry of the gospel and the schools be main- 
tained." 

a) The ministry of the gospel and schools serve for 
the instruction of adults and youths in true doctrine 
unto holiness. 

1) The ministry of the gospel was instituted by 
Christ, individual ministers are called by men. Eph. 
4: 11, Tit. 1 : 5. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 371 



2) Schools are the nurseries of the Church. Their 
most important function is to give religious instruction 
by means of biblical history and the catechism. This 
is supplemented by Christian training. Schools are 
not independent institutions of the same rank with the 
State and the Church. They are entrusted with the 
training of the members, for a certain length of time, 
of both Church and State, and, in reality, stand in the 
relation of helps to the parent, upon whom, first of all, 
rests the obligation to instruct and train his children. 
Deut. 6 : 7, Gen. 18 : .19, Ex. 13 : 8, 14. 

Three factors have a right in the schools : The State, 
the Church, and the parents. The school is an insti- 
tution of the State, and its duty is to see that the school 
educates good citizens. It is the duty and the privi- 
lege of the Church, which first established schools, to 
see to it that the children are not taught infidel and 
false doctrine, but that they are instructed and trained 
according to the doctrines of the Church to which they 
belong. Parents also have a right in the matter,, 
because to them has been given by God the nearest 
right to their children, which no civil law can take 
away from them. 

b) Schools are to be maintained. 

1) The authorities in State and Church must take 
their maintenance to heart, because the ministry of the 
gospel and schools are of the greatest importance to the 
true culture and civilization of the people. Isa. 49 : 23. 

2) Provision must be made for the education of min- 
isters and teachers. 2 Tim. 2 : 2. 

3) The churches must furnish the means for the sup- 
port of ministers and teachers, and for the needs of 
churches and schools. 1 Cor. 9 : 14, Gal. 6 : 6. 

3. The most important function of the ministry of 
the gospel is to conduct religious services, and it is the 
duty of the members of the congregation to take part 



372 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



in the same, " diligently frequent the church of God." 
Heb. 10 : 25. The several parts of public religious 
services are, as in the early Church, so also in the 
Reformed Church : 

a) To preach and to learn (not merely hear) the 
Word of God. Luke 11: 28, Eom. 10 : 17, Eccles 5 : 1. 
Only passages from the canonical scriptures are to be 
used as texts for sermons ; in the same way sermons 
on the catechism (the Heidelberg) must be based upon 
passages of Scripture. 

b) " To use the sacraments." t By this is meant not 
merely participation in the holy supper, but also that 
baptism be performed, as is the order of the Reformed 
Church, in the church before the congregation, so that 
it also may have a part in the service, and that adults 
may be reminded anew of their baptismal covenant. 
Acts 20 : 7, "And upon the first day of the week, when 
the disciples came together to break bread (to celebrate 
the Lord's Supper, compare Acts 2 : 42), Paul preached 
unto them." 

c) " Publicly to call upon the Lord" (in distinction 
from family worship). This is done by prayer, which 
the minister offers or reads, and which every one is to 
offer in common with him ; and by the singing of the 
congregation. Acts 1 : 14, Ps. 68 : 26, Eph. 5 : 19, 
Amos 5 : 23. As the first Christians sang only psalms, 
so the Reformed Church has especially fostered the 
singing of psalms. 

d) " Contribute to the relief of the poor." In this 
are included also other collections which are taken for 
Church purposes or for other needy objects. In Church 
collections it is proper to contribute more than the 
so-called " Church dollar," L e. 9 one penny. The poor 
widow (Mark 12 : 41-44) put indeed only a mite into 
the treasury, but it was, as the Lord said, all her sub- 
stance, i. e., all the money she had, and which she 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



373 



needed for her subsistence, she gave. 1 Cor. 16 : 2, 
2 Cor. 9 : 7, Gal. 6 : 10. " Christian almsgiving" is 
proper not only at the ordinary Sunday and festival 
services, but also at the services of missionary and Gus- 
tavus Adolphus Societies. (The word " alms" is 
derived from the Greek word, meaning " mercy.") 

4. But public religious services do not constitute the 
entire holyday ; to these must be added edification at 
home, by reading, singing, praying and godly conver- 
sation in the family circle or with friends. Col. 3 : 16. 

5. The rest of the body from earthly labor and the 
rest of the soul in God, as well as the work of God in 
the hearts of His children, constitute the holyday and 
the real Sabbath joy. Ps. 84 : 1,2. 

6. It is the duty of Christian governments to pro- 
vide for Sabbath rest, and to secure immunity from 
hindrances and offences against such rest. For Sab- 
bath observance Christians themselves must provide. 
This must be done, not by police authority, but by cus- 
tom ; and where this has lost its power, it must again 
be restored. Above all, believing Christians are not 
to make the day of the Lord a day of pleasure and of 
feasting, nor are they to participate in worldly enter- 
tainments. Eph. 5 : 15, Bom. 12 : 2. 

7. Already in the first century the churches com- 
menced to celebrate special festivals on particular Sab- 
baths or on other days, to commemorate the mighty 
acts of God : The Christmas festival, which is preceded 
by Advent ; the Easter festival, preceded by passion 
week and Good Friday ; the Feast of Pentecost, and 
between this and the Easter festival, Ascension Day. 
To this have been added in the Protestant Church, 
the fast-days and days of prayer, and the Reformation 
festival. A large part of the Reformed Church cele- 
brates only the Sabbath, others (in Switzerland and 
Germany) have also retained the traditional festival 



374 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



days. But in no wise must the proclamation of the 
mighty deeds of God be limited to the special festivals, 
which are celebrated in their remembrance. Ps. 96 : 2. 

8. Christian worship in the times of the apostles was 
not associated with the temple worship of the whole 
congregation of Israel, but as the arrangement of elders 
was derived from the synagogue, the individual congre- 
gation, so also was the order of service, in which the 
word of God formed the centre. When the hierarchy 
of the Middle Ages found their types in the high- 
priests and priests of the old covenant, and a new " sac- 
rifice" in the mass was invented, a new temple service 
with altars and consecrations was established in the 
Christian Church. 

The Reformed Church establishes its order of wor- 
ship upon the Scriptures and upon the usage of the 
first Christian congregations. There is especially one 
passage of Scripture which contains the different parts 
of the apostolic church service, Acts 2 : 42 : "And 
they continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine 
(preaching), and fellowship (participation in alms-giv- 
ing), and in breaking of bread (the use of the sacra- 
ments), and in prayers (to which also belonged sing- 
ing)." 

From the beginning there has prevailed in the Re- 
formed Church a certain freedom with reference to the 
several parts of church worship, which, however, has 
been ruled throughout by the law of simplicity ; thus, 
e. (/., in the Swiss and the French Directory of Worship 
the confession of sin stood first, in the Palatinate, at 
the end. The true order of the different parts which 
have found a place in the services of the Reformed 
Church, is as follows: 1. Singing. 2. Confession of 
sin and gracious consolation (announcement of forgive- 
ness). 3. Prayer. 4. Reading of Scripture. (5. Apos- 
tles' Creed.) 6. Singing. 7. Sermon. 8. Prayer and 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 375 



the Lord's Prayer. 9. Singing. 10. Celebration of 
the sacraments. 11. Benediction. 

III. The Eternal Sabbath. 

1. It would be a gross perversion to think that when 
due respect has been shown to the Sabbath or Sunday, 
it is not necessary on the other days of the week to 
give such close attention to a godly life. The Chris- 
tian is to be the same in his working clothes as in his 
Sunday garments. As in this life already we have in 
our hearts the beginning of that eternal joy, which 
after this life will be perfect, so here already we begin 
with the new life in God, the eternal Sabbath. 

2. The beginning of the eternal Sabbath in this life 
consists in this : 

a) " That all the days of my life I cease from my 
evil works." Isa, 58: 13, Rom. 12: 1, 1 Peter 2 : 11, 
James 1 : 22, 27. 

b) " That I yield myself to the Lord to work by His 
Holy Spirit in me." For otherwise we cannot cease 
from our evil works, which alone is not sufficient, for 
we are also to do good works, to which the Spirit 
of God impels and strengthens us. A means to this 
end is daily family worship, morning and evening, 
or at least at one of these periods of the day, in con- 
nection with the reading of the divine Word and 
prayer, and, if possible, also with singing. Gal. 5 : 16, 
18. 

3. The perfection of the eternal Sabbath will be 
found in the life beyond, when we shall be free from 
all sin, and from all the troubles and miseries of the 
present life, and shall praise God and serve Him in 
perfect righteousness and holiness forever. But no 
one will attain this perfect state who has not made the 
beginning here. Heb. 4: 9, 11. 



376 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



Question 104 

What doth God require in the fifth command t 

That I show all honor, love and fidelity to my father and mother,, 
and all in authority over me, and submit myself to their good 
instruction and correction with due obedience ; and also patiently 
bear with their weakness and infirmities, since it pleases God to 
govern us by their hand. 

I. THE DUTIES OF SUBJECTS TO SUPERIORS. 
A. Duties of Children to Parents. 

1. The fifth commandment, with which the " second 
table" of the law begins, treats in the first place of the 
duties of children to their parents (" father and mother" 
are mentioned), and all who stand in the same relation 
as these to children, such as grand-parents, step-parents 
and adopted parents, older relations and guardians. 

2. To them is to be shown : 

a) "All honor." This consists in heartily esteeming 
parents, and manifesting such esteem outwardly in 
acts of respect. Ex. 21 : 15, 17. Modesty and respect 
are due from youths to all older people. Lev. 19 : 32. 

h) "All love," i. e., hearty affection and attachment. 
This manifests itself in an obliging disposition, which 
prompts children to do any favors for their parents 
which they know would please them, in praying for 
them and in not allowing any one to alienate them 
from, nor to incite them against their parents. Matt. 
10 : 37. From this passage it will be seen that chil- 
dren are to love their parents more than all others, and 
that this love is inferior only to that due to the Lord. 

c) "All fidelity." Children are to have confidence 
in their parents, believing that these mean well with 
them, even when they themselves cannot understand 
the matter. They are not to rob them of anything, 
but rather shield them from harm, and render them 
help and support whenever possible. Prov. 28 : 24. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



377 



d) " Obedience," in that " I submit myself to their 
good instruction and correction with due obedience," 
and without contradiction or obstinacy. By instruc- 
tion is to be understood all direction, as well as all com- 
mands and orders which parents give to their children ; 
by correction, discipline and reproof, which are admin- 
istered to children on account of improper conduct or 
disobedience. Prov. 1 : 8 ; 15: 5, Col. 3 : 20. 

It is the duty of the child to submit to punishment 
without resistance, even when the same appears to it 
unjust. So far as " instruction" is concerned, i. e., that 
which the child is bidden to do by the parents, it is his 
duty to submit only to " good instruction." If anything 
should be asked of the child, which is against God's 
commandment, and, therefore, evil, the child must be 
governed by the law : " We must obey God rather 
than men." As it unfortunately happens that school 
children are occasionally instigated by their parents to 
petty thieving, to deception and lying, and to other 
sins, we cannot for any reason avoid emphasizing 
the idea of " good" instruction. But great care must 
be exercised in this matter. 

e) "Patiently" bear with the infirmities of parents. 
Not only when they are sick and old, and at the same 
time peevish, but also in days of health, when they 
become capricious, irritable or angry, the child must 
not rise up against them. Prov. 30 : 17 ; 23 : 22. The 
child also must not despise its parents when they fail in 
leading a godly life. Compare Noah and his sons, Gen. 
9: 21-27. 

B. Duties to All Superiors. 

"All in authority over me." To this class belong : 
For domestics, their governors ; for apprentices and 
journeymen, their masters ; for children and adults, 
teachers, ministers and elders ; and for all subjects, 
great and small, those in authority of every kind. 
31 



.378 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



1. Servants, apprentices and journeymen are to show : 
Honor. 1 Tim. 6 : 1. — Fidelity and obedience. Tit. 
2 : 9, 10, Col. 3 : 22.— Patience. 1 Peter 2 : 18. 

2. Children and adults are to show toward teachers, 
ministers and elders : Honor. 1 Tim. 5 : 17. — Love. 

1 Thess. 5 : 12, 13.— Obedience. Heb. 13 : 17. 

3. Subjects are to show toward those in authority 
over them : Honor. 1 Peter 2 : 17. — Love. 1 Tim. 

2 : 1, 2.— Fidelity. Matt. 22 : 21.— Obedience. Rom. 
13 : 1, 2, Tit. 3 : 1.— Patience. Rom. 13 : 5. 

4. In all these relations it is always true that the 
authority of God, whose commands take precedence of 
all others, stands above all human authority. Acts 
5: 29. 

C. The Basis of These Duties. 

The demand for the respect and obedience of chil- 
dren and subjects toward parents and superiors rests 
upon this, that " it pleases God to govern us by their 
hand." In so far they are God's representatives. 

a) Parents. Gen. 18 : 19. 

b) Those in authority. Eph. 6 : 7. 

c) Ministers. Luke 10 : 16. 

d) Powers. Eom. 13 : 1, 1 Peter 2: 13. 

II. DUTIES OF SUPERIORS TOWARD THEIR INFERIORS. 

" Since it pleases God to govern us by their hand," 
implies not only for parents and all superiors the right 
to demand respect and obedience, but also the duty, as 
God's representatives, to conduct themselves toward 
their children and subjects, and to "govern" them, 
according to the will of God. It is the duty of par- 
ents and of all in authority to care for the welfare of 
the bodies and the salvation of the souls of their chil- 
dren, and of those committed to them ; while ministers 
and teachers are chiefly to seek the salvation of the 
.soul aud the cultivation of the spirit, those in author- 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 379 



ity the preservation of civil order. But all are in 
duty bound to give their subjects the example of an 
upright life. 

1. Parents. 1 Tim. 5: 8, Prov. 13 : 24, Eph. 6 : 4. 

2. Those in authority. Jer. 22 : 13, Eph. 6 : 9. 

3. Ministers and teachers. Ezek. 3 : 17-21, Acts 
20: 28, 2 Tim. 4: 2, Tit. 2 : 7, 1 Peter 5 : 2, 3, Matt. 
5 : 19. It is an evil day when it may be said of a 
minister or of a teacher that to him applies the prov- 
erb : " Follow my words and not my works." 

4. The government. Prov. 8 : 16, Pom. 12 : 8, Ps. 
82: 3.. 

Examples. 1. Children, a) Pious : Jesus (Luke 
2: 49, 51, John 19: 26, 27), Shem and Japhet (Gen. 
9: 23), Joseph (Gen. 37: 2, 13, 14; 45: 9-11; 46 : 
29), Ruth (1: 16, 17). 

b) Wicked : Ham (Gen. 9 : 21, 22), Esau (Gen. 
28 : 6-9), Hophni and Phinehas (1 Sam. 2 : 12), Absa- 
lom (2 Sam. 15 : 6). 

2. Parents, a) Faithful : The parents of Moses (Ex. 
2: 1), of Samuel (1 Sam. 1: 20-28), of Jesus (Matt. 
2 : 13-15, Luke 2 : 44-46, John 19 : 25) ; 

b) Unscrupulous : Eli (1 Sam. 3 : 13). 

3. Servants, a) Good : Eliezer (Gen. 24 : 9, 12, 27, 
56), Joseph (Gen. 39: 2, 5, 8, 9, 20-23). 

b) Wicked : Gehazi (2 Kings 5 : 19), the servants 
of Job (Job 19: 15, 16). 

4. Rulers, a) Good : The centurion of Capernaum 
(Luke 7 : 2) ; 

b) Evil : Laban (Gen. 31 : 38-41) ; 

5. Members of the Church, a) Faithful : The Phil- 
ippians (Phil. 4: 1, 10, 14) ; 

b) Malicious : Alexander the coppersmith (2 Tim. 
4: 14, 15). 

6. Ministers and teachers, a) Faithful : Paul (Acts 
20 : 31, Eph. 3 : 14, Phil. 1 : 3-5) ; 



380 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



b) False: False prophets fJer. 14: 14; 8: 10, 11, 
Matt. 7 : 15, 16), heretics (Gal. 2:4, 5, 2 Peter 2 : 
1-3, 1 John 4 : 1-3). 

7. Subiects, a) Obedient: Christ (Matt. 22 : 15-21 ; 
17': 24-27), David (1 Sam. 24). 

b) Seditious : The rebellion of Korah (Num. 16). 

8. Governments, a) Good : Solomon (1 Kings 3 : 
3-10), Hezekiah (2 Kings 18: 3-7), Josiah (2 Chron. 
34); 

b) Wicked : Ahab (1 Kings 16-22), the Sanhedrim 
at Jerusalem (Matt. 26 : 59). 

Question 105 

What does God require in the sixth command t 

That neither in thoughts, nor words, nor gestures, much less in 
deeds, I dishonor, hate, wound, or kill my neighbor, by myself, or 
by another ; but that I lay aside all desire of revenge : also that I 
hurt not myself, nor wilfully expose myself to any danger. Where- 
fore also the magistrate is armed with the sword to prevent murder. 

Question 106. 

But this command seems only to speak of murder. 

In forbidding murder, God teaches us, that he abhors the causes 
thereof ; such as envy, hatred, anger, and desire of revenge ; and 
that he accounts all these as murder. 

Question 107. 

But is it enouyh that we do not kill any man in the manner men- 
tioned above f 

No ; for when God forbids envy, hatred, and anger, he commands 
us to love our neighbor as oui selves ; to show patience, peace, meek- 
ntss, mercy, and all kindness towards him, and prevent his hurt as 
much as in us lies ; and that we do good even unto our enemies. 

The purpose of commandments 6 — 0 is the protec- 
tion of our neighbor and of his property. The sixth 
commandment pertains to our neighbor's life, the sev- 
enth to his family, the eighth to his property, and the 
ninth to his honor. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 381 



I. What is Forbidden in the Sixth Commandment. 

A. Murder is forbidden. To kill means to take a 
man's life. There is one kind of murder which destroys 
the body, and another which destroys the soul. The 
commandment refers chiefly to the former, to the slay- 
ing of the body. There is a distinction to be made 
between a coarser and a more refined form of murder. 
The former is accomplished by outward violence or 
direct means, and the latter by so undermining and 
injuring the health and life of our neighbor that his 
death follows as a result. 

1. What is embraced in murder. 

a) Reviling, i. e., speaking evil of or against our 
neighbor. Ps. 15 : 1, 3. 

b) Hatred, i. e., cherishing evil thoughts in the heart 
against our neighbor. Lev. 19 : 17. 

c) Insult, i. e., slanderous expressions or acts intended 
to grieve or to hurt. Lev. 24 : 19. 

d) Taking life, i. e., the violent destruction of life. 
Lev. 24 : 17. 

e) Revengefulness. Lev. 19 : ' 18. 

/) Self-inflicted injury. Pro v. 24 : 8. Injury is 
inflicted upon oneself, e. g., by withholding from the 
body, through covetousness, whatever is needful to it, 
or by a lack of cleanliness and rest, Rom. 13 : 14 ; or 
by undermining one's health through intemperance in 
eating and drinking, or sensuality, 1 Cor. 3 : 17 ; or by 
mutilating one of the members of the body to escape 
military service. Suicide is especially forbidden. 
When this is caused by the clouding of the mind in 
delirium, or fever heat, a man is to be pitied. It may 
also be caused by despair over external circumstances 
or inward unrest ; also by fear of punishment (as in 
the case of the jailer at Philippi, who would have 
killed himself, Acts 16 : 27). No man has power 



382 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



over his own life. It belongs to God, who gave it. 
Examples of suicide are Saul, 1 Sam. 31 : 4, and Judas, 
Matt. 27 : 5. 

g) Wanton or unnecessary exposure to danger or 
overtaxing one's strength. This is presumption. Matt. 
4 : 7. In this is included duelling, which is indefen- 
sible on moral grounds : 1. Because it is inspired 
either by revenge or by a false sense of honor ; 2. 
Because thereby one exposes his life wantonly, i. e., 
unnecessarily to danger ; and 3. Because the aim is to 
injure or even to destroy the life of the opponent, or at 
all events to bring it into danger. There is more 
moral courage required, if one is the offender, to ask 
for forgiveness ; and if one is the offended party, to 
forgive an enemy than to face a pistol. The meeting 
of David and Goliath cannot be quoted as an example, 
since it was an act of war and the two decided the con- 
flict for their respective armies. When the Apostle 
Paul demanded as a matter of honor of the magistrates 
of the city of Philippi, who had punished him inno- 
cently and uncondemned, that they should themselves 
bring them forth out of the prison, he was not anxious 
about his personal honor, but that no reproach should 
be brought upon the gospel he was preaching in Greece, 
which he had just entered. Under other circumstances 
he was willing to bear all manner of contumely in his 
person. 2 Cor. 11 : 23-25. 

2. How murder is committed. 

a) In thought. Zech. 8 : 17. 

b) In words, invective, words of abuse, and of rail- 
ing and the like. Jer. 9 : 8, Matt. 5 : 22. 

c) By angry, threatening, and mocking gestures, etc. 
Gen. 4: 6, Ps. 22: 7. 

d) In act, as when a man himself takes the life of 
another violently or treacherously. Num. 35 : 16-21. 
Under the Mosaic law there was also a provision that 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



38a 



when any one killed another accidentally, uninten- 
tionally and without enmity, he could flee into one of 
the cities of refuge in the land, and after the death of 
the highpriest could return home unpunished ; he was 
thus not punished by death, but only with banishment 
or imprisonment. Cain was a murderer. Gen. 4 : 8. 

He also is guilty of the act of murder who kills any^ 
one " by another when he incites and instigates or 
authorizes another to commit the act ; as David had. 
put to death Uriah (2 Sam. 12: 9), Ahab, Naboth. 
(1 Kings 21), Herod, John (Matt. 14 : 10). 

Those become guilty of destroying the soul, who* 
become to others a stumbling-block or give offence to< 
them in words, gestures or deeds, by which they are led 
into sin or to a denial of their faith. Matt. 18 : 6, 7. 

B. The root of murder, i. e., the thought out of 
which the deed springs is also forbidden. 

1. Of such a nature are : 

a) Envy, hatred, anger, which excite the heart to 
enmity against one's neighbor. Gal. 5 : 19-21. 

b) Hevenge, i. e., the desire to avenge upon another 
a real or supposed wrong which one has suffered, i. e. y 
to return evil for evil. The world says : " Revenge is 
sweet." It is indeed so for the flesh, but it has a bitter 
root, hatred, and bears a deadly fruit, enmity unto 
death. 1 Thess. 5 : 15, Rom. 12 : 19. Christian 
revenge is described in Rom. 12 : 20, " Therefore if 
thine enemy hunger, feed him ; if he thirst, give him 
drink : for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on 
his head." 

2. Such roots of evil must be eradicated from the 
heart : 

a) Because from them finally springs murder, and 
whoever wishes to destroy a weed, must pull it up by 
the roots. Matt, 15 : 19. 

b) Because God hates these evil desires of the heart. 



384 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



looks upon them as secret murder, and judges them 
the same as the deed itself. 1 Sam. 16 : 7, Matt. 5 : 
22, 1 John 3 : 15. 
3. Examples. 

a) The brothers of Joseph were hostile to him and 
envied him, and when they saw him in the distance 
before he came near to them, they formed plans to kill 
him. Gen. 37: 4, 11, 18. Envy was, therefore, the 
root of their murderous thoughts. 

b) Absalom hated Amnon, and commanded his ser- 
vants and said : Smite Amnon and slay him. And 
the servants of Absalom did so, 2 Sam. 13 : 22, 28, 29. 
Absalom's hatred was the root of the murder which he 
committed " by another." 

c) The sons of Jacob became very wroth, and Simeon 
and Levi each took his sword and went into the city 
(Shechem) (as two against many) boldly and slew the 
males, in order to avenge the disgrace brought upon 
their sister Dinah. Gen. 34 : 7, 25. Anger and 
revenge were in this case the root of murder. 

II. What is Allowed., 

1. The State is allowed to execute the death penalty, 
but. only when the sentence is just; otherwise when it 
is inflicted in passion or unjustly, it is also murder. 
The magistrate bears the sword, i. e., he is to prevent 
murder, in that he punishes the same with the death 
of the murderer, whereby he not only punishes him 
and renders him harmless, but also deters others from 
committing the same wicked act. The execution of 
the death penalty is not commanded under all circum- 
stances. The pardon of the criminal is also allowed, 
and the death penalty may be entirely remitted or 
another punishment substituted for it. Rom. 13 : 4, 
Gen. 9: 6, Matt. 26: 52. 

. 2. Self-defense. When in an attack or a surprise, 
by which our life is threatened, it is not possible for us 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 385 



to obtain the protection of the State, we are allowed to 
act in self-defense. And if the assailant should thereby 
lose his life, it is not murder or homicide. 

3. Lawful war, which is to be looked upon as the 
self-defense of a people when they are attacked or as 
the exercise of the power of the State to prevent injus- 
tice when occasion demands it. A war occasioned by 
ambition, greed of conquest, revenge and other passions 
is unjustifiable. Whether a war is lawful, is not to be 
decided by the individual subject or soldier, but by the 
government, which also carries the responsibility. 

4. In this connection may also be considered the 
killing of animals, although the command has refer- 
ence only to the taking of human life. Since the flood, 
God has allowed men to kill animals in self-protection 
and for food. Gen. 9 : 2, 3, Prov. 12 : 10. Children 
are to be warned against torturing insects, such as bugs, 
and flies, and robbing birds' nests. Many a murderer, 
who ended his life upon the gallows, has confessed that 
he commenced in his youth by being cruel to small 
animals, especially to young birds. 

III. What is Commanded in the Sixth Commandment. 

It is not enough that we do not kill our neighbor or 
otherwise injure him in any manner (Ques. 105 and 
106), which God has forbidden, but He also commands 
us to act according to His will toward our neighbor. 
Such uprightness of conduct expresses itself (Ques. 107) 
in at least eight virtues. Every man is my neighbor 
without reference to his nationality or religion, and 
especially he who is in need of my help. Christ 
teaches this truth in the parable of the good Samari- 
tan, Luke 10 : 29-37, when He changed the question : 
" Who is my neighbor ?" to " To whom are you neigh- 
bor ?" Acts 17 : 26, 2 Peter 1 : 7. 

1. " To love our neighbor as ourselves." Love is a 
cordial attachment to another. Lev. 19 : 18. How we 



386 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



are to understand the expression " as ourselves" Christ 
teaches us in the golden rule. Matt. 7 : 12. 

2-6. "To show patience, peace, meekness, mercy, 
and all kindness," through which love expresses itself. 
Col. 3 : 12, 13. 

a) Patience consists in this, that we endure the 
insults of our neighbor with unruffled temper. Its 
strength lies in self-control. Matt. 5 : 39. 

b) By peace is here to be understood peaceableness, 
the disposition according to which one is willing to sac- 
rifice a part of one's own right and advantage in order 
to live in unity with one's neighbor, and the endeavor 
to create and further peace among others. Rom. 12 : 
18, Matt, 5 : 40 ; 5 : 9. Peaceableness is also mani- 
fested by approaching a neighbor, who has cause for 
complaint, to seek reconciliation with him. Matt. 5 : 
23, 24, 25. 

c) Meekness is to show itself in our efforts to con- 
vince our fellow-men of their wrong and to correct 
them, in that it is done not in bitterness, but with 
gentle words. Matt. 5: 5, Gal. 6: 1,2. 

d) Mercy consists in deep sympathy with our neigh- 
bor's bodily and mental distress and in active effort to 
help him out of his need. Luke 6 : 36, Matt. 5 : 7. 

e) Kindness is sincere cordiality in word, gesture 
and act in our intercourse with our neighbor, and the 
readiness to serve him in all good things, without seek- 
ing anything for oneself in return. Matt. 5 : 47. Chil- 
dren should show kindliness toward their compan- 
ions, as well as to adults, by their readiness to serve 
them. 

7. " To prevent his hurt as much as in us lies," i. 
as much as is possible for us we should prevent any 
hurt from coming upon our neighbor, or relieve him 
of any that may have befallen him. Pro v. 24 : 11, Isa. 
58 : 7. In order to save the life of our neighbor, we 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 387 



should risk even our own life, if necessity demands it. 
John 15 : 13. 

8. " That we do good even unto our enemies." An 
enemy is one who wishes me ill, or from an evil pur- 
pose does me harm. Love of an enemy is shown not 
merely in refraining from returning evil for evil, but 
also in recompensing his evil for good. Ex. 23 : 4, 5, 
Matt. 5 : 44, 45, Eom. 12 : 20. 

The suffering Savior (Luke 22: 49-51; 23: 24) 
and dying Stephen (Acts 7 : 59) are examples of love 
of enemies. 

Question 108. 

What doth the seventh command teach us f 

That all uncleanness is accursed of God, and that therefore we 
must, with all our hearts, de r est the same, and live chastely and 
temperately, whether in holy wedlock or in single life. 

Question 109. 

Doth God forbid, in this command, only adultery, and such like 
gross sins f 

Since both our body and soul are temples of the Holy Ghost, he 
commands us to preserve them pure and holy ; therefore he forbids 
all unchaste actions, gestures, words, thoughts, desires, and what- 
ever can entice men thereto. 

In treating this commandment before children, the 
greatest care needs to be exercised, as the sphere of 
marital life is known to them only as it manifests itself 
in the family, and since it behooves us to warn chil- 
dren against sins which for the most part are yet 
unknown to them. But the subject must not be evaded, 
especially since in our time sins of the flesh are so 
appallingly common, and our youth, through increas- 
ing effeminacy, are brought more and more under the 
fascination of secret sins. One should speak of it with 
earnestness and reserve, but yet in plainness and can- 
dor. With my catechumens I have sought to reach 



388 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



this end in an interview, which, as pastor, I was in the 
habit of holding with each one privately in my study 
before confirmation. 

I. Of Holy Matrimony. 

1. Holy matrimony is a union as to body and soul 
for life between one man and one woman, ordained by 
God Himself and sanctified in Christ. Gen. 1 : 27, 28, 
Matt. 19 : 4-6, Gen. 2 : 24. Polygamy belongs to the 
abominations of the heathen, and, as found under the 
old covenant, is to be judged in the light of God's for- 
bearance. 

By His presence at the marriage of Cana, Christ 
gave His sanction to holy matrimony, and by His first 
miracle pledged His blessing upon it. John 2 : 1-11. 

2. In entering into a conjugal union one is not to 
proceed thoughtlessly, and outward circumstances, such 
as money or physical beauty and so on, are not to be the 
basis of decision. It must be a matter of the heart and 
be consummated with parental approval. Prov. 31 : 
10, 30. 

The proverb says : " Marriages are made in heaven." 
This holds true only when honor and piety control both 
parties, and when the will of God is inquired after. 
Example : Isaac and Rebecca, Gen. 24 : 3-4, 12-14. 

3. The civil ceremony precedes the religious. The 
latter only constitutes true marriage, since in it alone 
the marriage covenant is sealed in the name of God, 
and the betrothed are united in marriage, i. e.\ they 
pledge marital fidelity to each other before God. 
" Trauen" (to unite in marriage) is derived from 
" Treue" (fidelity), and matrimony is spoken of beauti- 
fully among the people as pledged troth, i. e., as the 
firmest and most inviolable pledge. The religious 
ceremony is not to be neglected, because by it matri- 
mony is sanctified, and it is only then that we can 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 389 



speak of it as " holy matrimony." Those who are 
engaged are not to regard themselves, as is often the 
case, as man and wife before they are joined in mar- 
riage. Otherwise they sin grievously. 

4. The basis of the right relation in holy matrimony 
is : " to show to one another love, honor and fidelity." 
Eph. 5 : 28, 33, 1 Peter 3 : 7. 

The husband is the head of the family, also of the 
wife. Eph. 5 : 22, 23. 

The wife is the helpmeet of the husband in labor, 
in joy and in sorrow, but not his slave. Gen. 2: 18. 
Their relation to God in Christ and to salvation is 
expressed in Gal. 3 : 28, i. e., there is no difference 
between them, for they are all one in Christ Jesus. 
Since the loss of Paradise through sin, it may be said 
in many respects, " Ehestancl — Wehestand" (state of 
matrimony — state of woe). Gen. 3: 16-19. Under all 
circumstances the counsel of the apostle (Gal. 6 : 2) is 
to be observed, " Bear ye one another's burdens, and 
so fulfill the law of Christ." Matrimony is also a state 
of joy, especially when God blesses it with a family of 
healthy and well-favored children. Ps. 128 : 2-6. 

5. Mixed marriages, i. e., marriages between Protest- 
ants and Catholics, are to be avoided, as inward and 
marital peace are too much endangered when both hold 
firmly to their Churches. Marriages between Chris- 
tians and Jews or heathen are entirely indefensible, as 
in these cases there is not only a difference in confes- 
sions, but also in religion. A believing Christian 
should also guard against forming a matrimonial 
alliance with an unbeliever, since his religious life 
would be easily affected thereby. 

6. The marriage bond is indissoluble, and divorce is 
under no circumstances to be granted, except when 
marital infidelity of the one or of the other has been 
proved ; further also in cases of willful desertion. 



390 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



These are the only admissible grounds of divorce, 
according to the old Reformed marriage regulation 
(Calvin). All others are without support in God's 
Word and Spirit. Matt. 19 : 9, 1 Cor. 7 : 10, 15. 

II. What God has Forbidden in the Seventh Commandment. 

All uncleanness in holy wedlock or in single life. 

1. Outward. 

a) " Unchaste actions." Gal. 5 : 19. 

Adultery is committed by a husband when he stands 
in unlawful relations with another woman ; by a wife, 
when she stands in such relations with another man. 
Examples : For our warning, Herod, to whom John the 
Baptist said : " It is not lawful for thee to have thy 
brother's wife" (Mark 6 : 17, 18) ; for our imitation, 
Joseph, when Potiphar's wife wished to betray him, 
who said : " How then can I do this great wickedness, 
and sin against God ?" Gen. 39 : 9. 

Such unlawful relations among those in single life 
are called unchastity. The holy scriptures character- 
ize bodily impurity, the so-called secret sins, which cry 
« to heaven, onanism and sodomy, as the most abomi- 

nable of all sins. Gen. 18 : 20, 21, Rom. 1 : 26, 27. 

b) " Unchaste gestures and words." Eph. 4 : 29 ; 5 : 
3,4. 

With unchaste gestures must also be classed all 
kinds of indecent exposure of the body. Decollete 
dress among women also does not accord with a Chris- 
tian sense of modesty. 

2. Inward. 

a) " Unchaste thoughts and desires." The source of 
all impurity is the fleshlv lust of the heart. Matt. 15 : 
19 ; 5 : 28, James 1 : 15. 

b) " Whatever can entice thereto." In this is included 
first of all intemperance in eating and drinking (com- 
pare, Lot, Gen. 19 : 33) and idleness (David, 2 Sam. 



THE HEIDELBEEG CATECHISM. 



391 



11 : 2), Rom. 13 : 13, 14, Prov. 23 : 31-33, Eph. 5 : 
18. These well-known sayings are true : " Idleness is 
the beginning of all evil ;" or " Idleness is the devil's 
couch." Then evil companions and their loose speech. 
1 Cor. 15 : 33. Further, unchaste or tempting songs, 
books (romances) and pictures. Lastly, the theatre 
and all sorts of amusements, e. g., drinking-bouts and 
frivolous dances, whereby the sensual desires are 
excited. Matt. 14: 6. 

III. What God lias Commanded in the Seventh Commandment. 

Chastity in holy wedlock and in single life. 

1. Aversion to and hatred of all un chastity, both 
outward and inward, " that we must, with all our 
hearts, detest the same." Jude, v. 23, 2 Tim. 2 : 22. 

2. The preservation of a chaste mind and heart. 1 
Peter 2 : 11, Phil. 4: 8. 

3. The observance of modesty and chastity in life. 
Heb. 13 : 4, Gal. 5 : 16. 

IV. Why Unchastity is to be Detested. 

1. Unchastity in itself dishonors, and in its effects 
injures both body and soul. 

2. Unchastity is accursed of God. Heb. 13 : 4. 

3. The body and soul of the Christian are a temple 
of the Holy Ghost. 1 Cor. 6 : 18, 20. 

4. Marriage is a symbol of the holy communion 
between Christ and the Church. Eph. 5 : 22-32. 

V. What Helps in Preserving Chastity. 

1. Prayer and a chaste heart. Ps. 51 : 10. 

2. The avoidance of all that would excite impurity 
(compare II., 2, b). 

3. Watchfulness over oneself. Prov. 4 : 23, Job 31 : 1. 

4. Constant thought of the nearness of God, who 
looks into the heart and sees what is hidden. Ps. 139 : 
1-4. 



392 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



Question 110. 

What doth God forbid in the eighth command f 

God forbids not only those thefts and robberies which are punish- 
able by the magistrate, but he comprehends under the name of 
theft, all wicked tricks and devices, whereby we design to appropri- 
ate to ourselves the goods which belong to our neighbor : whether it 
be by force, or under the appearance of right, as by unjust weights, 
ells, measures, fraudulent merchandise, false coins, usury, or by 
any other way forbidden by God ; as also all covetousness, all waste 
and abuse of his gifts. 

Question 111. 

Bid what doth God require in this command f 

That I promote the advantage of my neighbor in every instance 
I can or may, and deal with him as I desire to be dealt with by oth- 
ers ; further also, that I faithfully labor, so that I may be able to 
relieve the needy. 

I. God Forbids Us to Encroach in Any Way on our Neighbor's 

Property. 

1. To steal means to appropriate unlawfully anoth- 
er's property, or in any way whatever to bring into our 
possession what belongs to our neighbor. Hab. 2 : 6. 
Property that belongs to another may be lawfully 
acquired by sale, exchange or gift, etc. 

2. Many persons would justify their dishonesty by 
excuses that are inadequate, claiming that the one 
whom they rob has an abundance or more than he 
needs ; that what they take is small in quantity or of 
insignificant value ; that necessity has driven them to 
it, and that necessity knows no law. Children do not 
regard it as a serious wrong to take money or other 
things belonging to their parents. The sin does not 
depend on whether the person robbed has much, nor 
on the quantity stolen, but it depends upon the deed 
itself. It is stealing in every case. Poverty and 
necessity do not license stealing. The way of deliver- 
ance for such is indicated by God Himself. Ps. 91 : 



THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 



393 



15, " He shall call upon me, and I will answer him ; I 
will be with him in trouble ; I will deliver him, and 
honour him." To children God says, Prov. 28 : 24, 
" Whoso robbeth his father or his mother, and saith, 
It is no transgression ; the same is the companion of a 
destroyer" (in league with robbers). 

3. Stealing is a grave sin, because it is an infringe- 
ment of the order of God, who has allotted to each one 
his portion, and by this commandment He has sanctified 
property. Prov. 30 : 9, 1 Cor. 6: 10, " Nor thieves, 

nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God." 

Achan (Josh. 7) and Judas (John 12: 6) were thieves. 

4. A distinction is to be made between coarser and 
more refined theft. 

(A) 5. To the coarser form of theft belong : 

a) The secret appropriation of another's property, 
such as stealing from churches, houses, orchards, fields 
or woods. 

b) Robbery, the taking away of another's property 
by force or by threatening the safety and life of the 
owner. Highway robbery. Lev. 19 : 13. 

(B) 6. Under the head of refined theft fall "all 
wicked tricks and devices, whereby we design to appro- 
priate to ourselves the goods which belong to our 
neighbor, whether it be by force, or under the appear- 
ance of right." To this class belong cunning and 
deception of every sort in conduct and in trade, by 
which men take advantage of their fellows and injure 
their property. In these days the state punishes not 
only " thefts and robberies," but also every form of 
fraud. A deceitful transaction has the appearance of 
being right, i. e., outwardly it appears as if everything 
were right and proper, and yet it is not honest. Amos 
8 : 4-7. 

7. By way of example the following wicked tricks 
may be cited as frauds : 
32 



394 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



a) " Unjust weights, ells, measures." Lev. 19 : 35, 
Prov. 11 : 1. 

b) The sale of bad merchandize, and the adultera- 
tion of food for profit. To this category belongs infe- 
rior workmanship. 1 Thess. 4 : 6. 

c) Counterfeit coin and usury. Not only to make, 
but also to circulate counterfeit money when one is 
aware of it, is fraud. Usury in the sense of interest on 
money lent is not forbidden in itself (see Christ's teach- 
ing in the parable, Matt. 25: 27, Luke 19: 23), but 
certainly in the sense of excessive interest, or when the 
need of one's neighbor is taken advantage of, and when 
interest is taken from the poor. Lev. 25 : 35, 36. 

d) "Any other way forbidden by God," even if it is 
not directly condemned in the Word of God, but yet 
is contrary to its spirit. To this category belong : 

1. Receiving stolen goods. " To conceal is as bad 
as to steal" (proverb). 

This sin is committed a) when one knows of a theft 
and fails to give information of it ; b) when one con- 
ceals what has been stolen ; c) when one accepts as a 
gift or purchases what he knows to have been stolen. 
Prov. 29 : 24. 

2. Changing boundaries, either by secretly removing 
landmarks or effacing such lines. Deut. 27 : 17. 

3. Embezzlement by purloining or permitting to go 
to ruin that which has been entrusted to one's charge 
(e. g., by servants and workmen). Lev. 6 : 2. 

4. To borrow and not to pay back, as well as all 
forms of reckless contracting of debts. Ps. 37 : 21. 

5. Keeping back or curtailing wages that have been 
earned. Lev. 19 : 13, Jer. 22 : 13, James 5 : 4. 

6. Not to give back to a known owner anything that 
has been found. Lev. 6 : 2, 3. 

7. Gambling (cards, dice, lotteries, etc.). 2 Thess. 
3: 11, 12. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 395 



8. Unjust lawsuits. Jer. 5 : 28, James 2 : 6. Exam- 
ple : Ahab against Naboth. 1 Kings 21. 

(C) 9. The unlawful use of one's own property is 
likewise theft. All property is an individual trust 
from God, for whose use an account must be rendered. 
1 Cor. 4 : 7, Luke 16 : 2. 

Both covetousness and extravagance are sinful. 

a) Covetousness is the inordinate desire for posses- 
sions and retaining them without making use of them 
for the benefit of oneself or others. Luke 12 : 15, 
1 Tim, 6: 10. 

Covetousness is : 1. Theft, because we do not honor 
God with our possessions, but on the contrary we appro- 
priate them to ourselves and alienate them from God. 
Prov. 3 : 9. 2. Idolatry, because we withhold from 
our own families and from those in need what we owe 
them ; yea, the covetous man robs himself, in that he 
begrudges himself everything. The avaricious person 
also readily resorts to unlawful means to enrich him- 
self or to increase his goods. Col. 3 : 9, 1 Tim. 6 : 9. 

b) Unnecessary extravagance consists in excessive 
expenditure for eating and drinking, clothing, pleas- 
ures, etc., as well as in expenditures for things which 
we do not need. Beside this wastefulness in money 
and possessions there is a wastefulness of time. Such 
a squanderer of time is called a " sluggard." Prov. 23 : 
20-21; 6: 6-11. Example: The prodigal son. Luke 
15: 13,14. 

Waste of time and money is theft : for time is stolen 
from God, who has given the command, "Six days 
shalt thou labor ;" and the man's family is deprived of 
the money wasted, and he brings himself and them, as 
well as his needy fellow-men, into distress and want. 
1 Tim. 5 : 8. 

Not every expenditure is "useless extravagance ;" 
but men of wealth and rank, as well as kings and prin- 



396 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



ces, have the right to spend more for their table, for 
clothing, upon their houses, etc., than a poor man, or 
one of lower rank. At the same time one is not to live 
beyond his means. Such expenditure is again to the 
advantage of trade and labor by which other people 
live. But such a mode of life also becomes sinful when 
one's affections are set upon it, or when thereby one's 
duties to his fellow-men are neglected, and very little 
is left for the kingdom of God. Hag. 1 : 2-4. The 
rich man, Luke 16 : 19-21. 

II. God Commands Us to be Concerned for onr Neighbor's Welfare. 

(A) 1. Our relation to our neighbor in general. 
" That I promote the advantage (i. e., welfare and 
prosperity) of my neighbor in every instance I can or 
may" (i. e., where I myself am in a position to do it 
and as far as my circumstances allow it). Phil. 2 : 4, 
1 Pet. 4 : 10. 

2. When our neighbor has been injured by robbery 
of any kind, the thief, when he comes to the knowledge 
of his sin, must restore what he has taken or make 
compensation for the injury he has done. Ex. 22 : 3, 
Ezek. 33 : 15. 

When one is afraid or ashamed to approach the 
injured party himself, the intervention of the pastor or 
of some other trustworthy member of the congregation 
may be sought. If the injured party is dead, compen- 
sation should be made to the heirs or to the poor. Ex- 
ample : Zaccheus, Luke 19: 8. 

3. The golden rule is particularly applicable to my 
relation to my neighbor's possessions, viz., " that I do 
to him as I would that he should do to me." Matt. 
7: 12. 

(B) 4. To provide for our fellow-men who are in 
want is particularly commanded. Isa. 58 : 7, Eph. 
4: 28. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 397 



The support of the needy, almsgiving, may be prac- 
ticed in many ways, but in all cases heartily and cheer- 
fully. 2 Cor. 9:7. It is not to be done for personal 
aggrandizement (as did the Pharisees, Matt. 6 : 1, 2), 
but secretly, Matt. 6 : 3, 4. 

(C) 5. In sharp contrast with robbery, labor is set 
forth as the lawful God-ordained means of acquiring 
maintenance, and increasing one's possessions, especially 
labor in a proper vocation. " That I faithfully labor." 
This embraces three parts : 

a) Industry. Gen. 3 : 19, 1 Thess. 4 : 11. Exam- 
ples : Jacob, Gen. 31 : 38-41 ; Paul, Acts 20 : 34, 35. 

b) Economy. Pro v. 13 : 11. The Lord also said 
unto His disciples, John 6 : 12, " Gather up the frag- 
ments that remain, that nothing be lost." 

Economy is essentially distinguished from covetous- 
ness in this, that it proceeds from a feeling of duty not 
to allow any one of God's gifts to perish, while covet- 
ousuess proceeds from avarice and has its eye fixed 
solely upon increased possessions. 

c) Contentment. 1 Tim. 6 : 6-8, Heb. 13 : 5. Labor 
faithfully, live within your means, and as for the rest 
remember what the Lord hath said : " I will never 
leave thee nor forsake thee." 

6. In conclusion : From covetousness and envy arises 
the transgression, from self-denial and love of one's 
neighbors the fulfillment of the eighth commandment. 

Question 112. 

What is required in the ninth command t 

That I bear false witness against no man, nor falsify any man's 
words; that I be no backbiter, or slanderer; that I do not judge, 
or join in condemning any man rashly or unheard ; but that I 
avoid all sorts of lies and deceit, as the proper works of the devil, 
unless I would bring down upon me the heavy wrath of God ; like- 
wise, that in judgment and all other dealings I love the truth, speak 
it uprightly, and confess it ; also, that I defend and promote as 
much as I am able the honour and good character of my neighbour. 



398 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



I. Sins Forbidden by God. 

1. The ninth commandment treats of our conduct in 
relation to our neighbor's honor and reputation in daily- 
intercourse. 

2. Everything is forbidden that might injure our 
neighbor's honor and reputation. 

a) False witness. Testimony is a statement con- 
cerning any man or thing, whether attested by an oath 
or not. One is guilty of bearing false witness, not 
merely when one himself invents and makes a false 
statement, but also when one receives and spreads such 
a statement from others. Ex. 23 : 1, Prov. 19 : 5. 
Example : The witnesses against Naboth, 1 Kings 21. 

b) Slander, i. e., to injure a man's reputation by 
making a false statement based upon a misrepresenta- 
tion of his language. His language is misrepresented 
(perverted) either by omission or addition, or false con- 
struction. Lev. 19 : 16, Prov. 4 : 24, Ps. 15 : 3. Exam- 
ple : The false witnesses against Christ, Matt. 26 : 61. 
Compare John 2: 19, 21. Jesus had said: "Destroy 
this temple" — His body. But they declared that He 
said, I can destroy the temple of God at Jerusalem. 

c) Calumny, to which also belongs all meddling and 
tale-bearing, by which people are set against each other. 
James 4 : 11. 

d) Defamation, i. <?., to attribute to our neighbor 
crimes which bring him into disrepute. Jer. 18 : 18, 
Eph. 4 : 31, Tit. 3 : 1, 2. 

e) To condemn without a hearing, or to judge 
thoughtlessly. John 7 : 51, Luke 6 : 37, 41. 

/) Lying, i. e., to state an untruth knowingly or 
intentionally. Lev. 19: 11. Example: Ananias and 
Sapphira, Acts 5. It is an inexcusable evasion to say 
that a lie is allowable which does not injure another or 
which may even be to his advantage. The following 
also are sinful : 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 399 



1. A lie spoken in jest ; we are not to play with sin ? 
with a lie. Eph. 5 : 4. 

2. Lies of necessity. For the Christian no necessity 
can arise which justifies sin, a lie. Rom. 3 : 8. Com- 
pare the " lies of necessity" of Abraham and Isaac,, 
spoken in weakness of faith, Gen. 12 : 10-19 ; 26 :: 
6-11 ; of Peter, Matt. 26 : 69-73. While the Lord in 
a really trying exigency, v. 63-66, was confessing the 
truth, Peter from fear of man and imaginary necessity 
was lying. Bitter sorrow (v. 75) followed the " lie of 
necessity." 

g) Deceitfulness, i. 6., all forms of deception in 
speech. 

1. Hypocrisy and flattery. Ps. 12 : 2 ; 55: 21. 

2. Deceit. Prov. 12 : 22. 

3. " Business lies," which are employed to dupe one r s 
neighbor by a false representation concerning goods 
offered him. 

4. " Lies of courtesy," so-called compliments, em- 
ployed to say agreeable things at the expense of the 
truth. Flippancy of speech, gossip and boastfulness 
lead to lying and deception. Sins of the tongue are of 
all sins the most common. Prov. 10 : 19. To boast of 
one's sins is outrageous. Isa. 3 : 9, Jas. 3 : 5. 

3. Why lying and deception are to be avoided. 

a) Because they are the devil's own works, i. e., they 
really originate from him. Truth is divine, lying is 
devilish. John 8 : 44. 

b) Because God's wrath, i. e., His judgment is threat- 
ened against these. Ps. 5 : 6. 

II. The Virtues Which God Enjoins. 

1. Love of truth. If the lips are to speak the truth, 
the heart must first be inclined thereto. 

2. Speaking the truth in sincerity. One is not 
bound in all cases (except before a magistrate) to tell 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM, 



all that be knows or all that is true, whether inquiry 
is made in relation thereto or not : for there is also a 
virtue in secrecy with reference to what has been 
entrusted to us. When one is solicited to speak freely, 
the answers must be openly evasive, and one must 
not -eek to help himself by the use of ambiguous lan- 
guage. While, therefore, we are not obliged to tell all 
that is true, what we do say must be true. Prov. 12 : 
17. Eph. 4: 25. Examples: Nathan. 2 Sam. 12 con- 
cerning David : John the Baptist. John 1: 19 con- 
cerning himself i. 

3. Perseverance in the confession of the truth, even 
when it involves danger to body and life. 2 Cor.l : 17. 
Example : Peter and John before the Sanhedrim. Acts 4. 

4. To establish and to maintain the honor and 
the good name of our neighbor. Honor and a goal 
name are precious possessions, which we are to preserve 
not only for ourselves, but also for our neighbor. From 
this, however, it is not inferred that we are to defend 
or palliate manifest wrong done by our neighbor. Isa. 
o : 20. We are to preserve the good name of our 
neighbor. 1 Sam. 19 : 4. We are to promote our 
neighbor's honor. 1 Sam. 1*3 : IS. 

5. The means by which the sins forbidden may be 
avoided, and the virtues enjoined, practiced. 

a: Watchfulness. Ps. 39: 1. 
b Prayer. Ps. 141 : 3. 

Question 113. 

What doth the tenth command require of us t 

That even the smallest inclination. :r thought, contrary to any 
of G: 1's commands, never rise in our hearts : but mat at all times 
we hate all sins with our whole hearts, and delight in all righteous- 
ness. 

The tenth commandment relates chiefly to the unlaw- 
ful desire for our neighbor's property, and is a part of 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



401 



the second table of the law, but as the concluding com- 
mandment it also has reference to all of them. In this 
latter sense Paul uses it, Kom. 7 : 7, " For I had not 
known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not 
covet." So also Christ in the sermon on the mount 
(Matt. 5) in the words " but I say unto you" extends 
the tenth commandment to the whole law ; even as in 
Matt. 15 : 19-20, He traces back the origin of all sins 
against the second table to the evil inclination which is 
forbidden in the tenth commandment. 

I. The Desire for Evil is Forbidden. 

1. Evil inclination is the incitation and desire for 
anything evil in the heart. 

2. Although the evil inclination often arises invol- 
untarily in the heart, yet in its origin even the small- 
est inclination is sin, because it proceeds from a sinful 
heart. James 1 : 14. 

3. The second stage is, that one takes pleasure in the 
evil desire and yields to it in thought. James 1 : 15, 
Matt. 15 : 19, 20. 

4. The command not only forbids the evil desire, 
but also enjoins upon us not to allow ourselves to be 
enticed by evil. A man cannot stop birds from flying 
about him, but he can prevent them from building 
nests upon his head. Gen. 4 : 7. 

5. As the evil desire is incited from without, every- 
thing that brings one into danger is to be avoided. 
1 John 2 : 15, 16. 1 John 5 : 19, " The whole world 
lieth in wickedness." On this account all inclination 
to evil, as well as all sin, has its ultimate origin in the 
evil one, i. e., the devil. 

II. The Desire for Good is Enjoined. 

1. " Hate all sin." We must not only condemn sin- 
ful deeds, but must also hate the sin within us and 
struggle against it. This is done through self-denial. 



402 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



To deny oneself means not to do anything to please 
oneself and one's own flesh, but in all acts and deeds 
to have regard only for God ; or to act as if one did 
not know himself and as if his own flesh did not belong 
to him, i. e., to recognize and subdue his flesh as an 
enemy, which must be overcome in the conflict. Ps. 
119 : 104, Gal. 5 : 24. 

2. " Delight in all righteousness" (i. e., delight in 
all that is just and that is enjoined by God). Rom. 7 : 
22, Matt. 5 : 48. 

3. To this end the continued renewal of the heart 
and the sanctification of the life is necessary. Eph. 4 : 
22, 23, Gal. 5 : 16. 

4. "At all times with our whole heart." We can 
neither love the good without hating the evil, nor hate 
the evil without loving the good. Jer. 4 : 3, Matt. 6 : 24. 

Question 114. 

But can those who are converted to God, perfectly keep these com- 
mands? 

No ; but even the holiest men, while in this life, have only small 
beginnings of this obedience, yet so, that with a sincere resolution, 
they begin to live, not only according to some, but all the com- 
mands of God. 

1. The natural man may indeed strive outwardly 
after a life that is honorable according to human con- 
ceptions of morality, but the commandments of God he 
cannot keep, because he lacks the impetus and power 
of the Spirit of God. The converted or regenerated 
man is able to keep God's commandments, because he 
has the Spirit of God, but he cannot do this perfectly, 
because here he has still to struggle with the flesh, 
which lusts against the Spirit. Gal. 5 : 17, 1 John 1 : 
8, James 3 : 2. 

2. The converted man's obedience of the command- 
ments of God can be spoken of as " only small begin- 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 403 



nings" in comparison with the perfection required by 
the law of God, or in comparison with legal perfection. 
James 2 : 10. 

Even " the holiest men," i. e., the children of God 
who by grace have reached the highest degree of obe- 
dience, themselves confess that they have only attained 
a slight beginning. Job, Job 9 : 2, 3 ; David, Ps. 19 : 
12; Paul, Rom. 7 : 18, 19, Phil. 3 : 12. 

3. This, however, must not deter us from following 
after holiness, i. e., growth in the inner life, for there 
is such a thing as an evangelical perfection possible in 
this life (i. e., a perfection offered by the gospel in con- 
trast with that of the law) ; " yet so," which consists in 
this, that " with a sincere resolution we begin to live, 
not only according to some, but all the commands of 
God," according to the workings of the Holy Ghost, 
who dwells in us. Ps. 119 : 106, Rom. 7 : 22. 

Regenerated persons, when they have lapsed into 
sin, recover again from their fall by the power of God's 
grace in virtue of their forgiveness through the blood 
of Christ. Phil. 3:13. 

4. That in this life we are able to make only a small 
beginning in perfect obedience, indicates to us also that 
our sanctification does not rest upon good works, but 
only upon justification through grace. This also is 
our comfort in all the weakness and imperfection of our 
inward life and of our conduct. 1 John 2 : 1, 2. 

Question 115. 

Why will God then have the ten commands so strictly preached, 
since no man in this life can keep them f 

First, that all our lifetime, we may learn more and more to 
know our sinful nature, and thus become the more earnest in seek- 
ing the remission of sin, and righteousness in Christ ; likewise, that 
we constantly endeavour and pray to God for the grace of ihe 
Holy Spirit, that we may become more and more conformable to 
the image of God, until we arrive at the perfection proposed to us, 
in a life to come. 



404 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



1. The law is also of service to the converted. 

a) It serves as a mirror to bring them to a knowl- 
edge of their sins, and that all their lifetime. This 
knowledge is also progressive, for at first it takes cog- 
nizance of grosser sins, and then " more and more" of 
the more refined sins, in that through the influence of 
the Holy Ghost the spiritual eye becomes more and 
more discerning. Rom. 3 : 20 ; 5 : 13. 

b) Through our increasing knowledge of sin we " be- 
come the more earnest in seeking the remission of sin 
and righteousness in Christ." Matt. 5 : 6, Rom. 10 : 4. 

Calvin says with reference to the above passage : 
" The Apostle shows that he fas the Jews, v. 3) is a false 
interpreter of the law who strives to become righteous 
through its works, since the law is given for the pur- 
pose of leading us to another righteousness ; yea, all 
that the law teaches, all its demands and promises 
have Christ as their end, on account of which all its 
parts are to be referred to Him. But this can take 
place only when we lay aside all self-righteousness, are 
permeated by the knowledge of sin, and supplicate 
Him only for righteousness by grace. Matt. 5 : 17, 
* Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the 
prophets : I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil/ 
Therefore Rom. 10 : 4 cannot be interpreted as 
implying that Christ abolished the law of God. He 
fulfilled it in His perfect obedience and atoned for our 
transgressions of it by His sufferings and death, and, 
thereby, has secured for us who believe on Him the 
righteousness which avails before God." 0 

2. The preaching of the law admonishes us to live 
earnest lives before God. 

a) We should constantly endeavor that we may 
become more and more conformable to the image of 
God. Deut. 31 : 11-13, 2 Cor. 7 : 1. 



THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 405 



b) At the same time, because the regenerate cannot 
do this through their own strength, we are to " pray to 
God for the grace of the Holy Spirit," who gives us 
power. Eph. 3 : 16, Ps. 143 : 10. 

3. " Until we arrive at the perfection proposed to 
us, in a life to come." The goal of perfection is 
attained only with the renewal of the body in the 
resurrection, when the whole man is again fully 
restored to the image of God. 1 Cor. 13 : 9, 10, 1 John 
3 : 2. The elect of God have, therefore, 

a) A heartfelt desire for the goal of perfection. Rom. 
8 : 23, 24. 

b) An unshaken certainty that they will reach thi& 
goal. 2 Tim. 1 : 12. 

The law of God serves a threefold purpose for those 
who have been regenerated : 

1. It furthers them in the knowledge of sin. 

2. It serves as a rule of life for them. 

3. It keeps alive in them the desire for perfection. 



OF PRAYER. 
Question 116. 

Why is prayer necessary for Christians t 

Because it is that chief part of thankfulness which God requires 
of us ; and also, because God will give his peace and Holy Spirit to 
those only, who with sincere desires continually ask them of him,, 
and are thankful for them. 

I. The Nature and Character of Prayer. 

A. The nature of prayer. Prayer is not merely 
meditating upon God, but is the intercourse of the 
heart (the believing soul) with God. Ps. 10 : 14 ; 5:2. 

Prayer is the native breath of the renewed man. 
The first indication of life in the case of Paul after he 
was converted was that he prayed. Acts 9 : 11. 



406 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



Prayer is the thermometer of the inner life, by 
which the Christian may himself gauge his commun- 
ion with the living God. James 5 : 16. 

1. When are we to pray ? 

a) From of old the children of God observed three 
stated times for prayer : morning, noon and night. Ps. 
63 : 6, Deut. 8 : 10. Prayer was offered by Christ at 
the table in the circle of His disciples. Matt. 14 : 19, 
Mark 14: 22, Luke 24: 30, 35. Isaac at eventide 
went into the field to pray. Gen. 24: 63. Daniel 
prayed three times a day. Daniel 6 : 10. Peter and 
John observed the customary hours of prayer for the 
children of Israel. Acts 3 : 1. 

b) Other times are suitable for prayer, even as often 
as we have desires to bring unto God. Ps. 62 : 8, Eph. 
6: 18. 

c) Pray without ceasing. 1 Thess. 5: 17. This does 
not mean that we are to pray without intermission, but 
that we are not to omit praying. 1 Peter 3 : 7, Bom. 12 : 
12. See the parable of the unjust judge. Luke 18 : 1. 

2. Where shall we pray ? 

a) Alone, in secret. Matt. 6 : 6. Whoever does not 
have a place to which he can retire by himself in the 
house, let him follow the example of Isaac (Gen. 24 : 
63), or of Jesus (Matt. 14 : 23), and seek one outdoors. 

b) In the public service of the congregation. In the 
service of song we pray aloud. The prayer offered by 
the minister we follow silently in the heart. Ps. Ill : 
1, Acts 1 : 14. 

c) In home worship, with the family, with the 
household. 

3. How are we to pray ? 

a) Aloud or silently ? No directions with reference 
to this are given. It depends upon circumstances and 
regulates itself. Luke 6 : 45, " . . . for of the 
abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh." Han- 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



407 



nah, on the contrary, 1 Sam. 1 : 13, " spake in her 
heart ; only her lips moved, but her voice was not 
heard." Moses is not heard to pray, Ex. 14 ; he sighed 
only in his heart, and yet the Lord said (v. 15), 
" Wherefore criest thou unto me ?" The catechism 
speaks of asking " with sincere desires continually." 

b) In what posture ? Upon this the efficacy and the 
hearing of the prayer do not depend. But it has its 
significance. The children of Israel prayed standing 
or kneeling with outstretched arms,; on fast-days they 
fell upon the face to the earth, 1 Kings 8 : 54, Daniel 
6: 10. According to Luke 18: 11, 13, both the 
Pharisee and publican stood at prayer. Num. 16 : 22. 
Christians pray sitting, standing or kneeling ; with 
bowed heads and folded hands, the former as an expres- 
sion of humiliation before God, and the latter as that 
of inward composure. 

Examples of kneeling in prayer : The Lord Jesus 
Himself, Luke 22: 41; Stephen, Acts 7: 60; Peter, 
Acts 9: 40; Paul, Acts 20: 36, Epn. 3 ; 14 ; the 
early Christians, Acts 21 : 5 ; the saints in heaven, 
Rev. 4 : 10 ; 11 : 16. 

In accordance with the custom of the early Church, 
the Reformed at first knelt in prayer at public service, 
following the example of Zurich and Geneva. The 
Directory of Worship of the Reformed Church of 
France (la discipline des eglises reformees de France) 
directs in chapter 10, Art. 1, that in public, as well as 
in family worship, the head be uncovered and the knee 
be bent in prayer. " The pastors, as well as the elders 
and the heads of families, are instructed to have great 
care that during prayer everyone without exception 
and without respect of person give evidence of these 
outward signs of the humility of his heart and his 
reverence before God ; except when by sickness or 
other causes, the judgment of which must be left to his 
own conscience, he be prevented from so doing." 



408 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



At the religious conference of Poissy (1561) there 
appeared before King Charles IX. and his mother, 
Queen Catharine, as the representative of the Reformed 
Church, Theodore of Beza, the friend and successor of 
Calvin, besides thirty-three pastors and elders. When 
at the beginning of the proceedings he was called upon 
to speak, he stepped before the bar, and with a clear, 
firm voice said : " Since the issue of every undertaking 
depends upon God's grace and help, it will not dis- 
please your Majesty, nor will you find it strange, if we 
open the services by calling upon His name." He 
then kneeled with his Reformed brethren, while the 
Catholic prelates stood and offered the prayer with 
which every divine service in Geneva was opened. (It 
was the prayer of Oecolampadius, entitled " public con- 
fession," and is found also in the Electoral Palatinate 
Directory of Worship : " Heavenly Father, eternal and 
merciful God ! we acknowledge and confess before thy 
divine Majesty that we are poor, miserable sinners, " 
etc.) Then they arose, and Beza delivered his address 
in defence of the Reformed doctrine. 

4. The entire life of the Christian is to be a prayer, 
in that he is to strive earnestly that he may at all 
times be found in the proper frame of mind for prayer. 
Zech. 12 : 10. 

"A time and place in which to pray 
In solitude I sought alway ; 
Now in my heart unceasingly 
I pray, alone where'er I be." 

— G. Tersteegen. 

B. Different kinds of prayer mentioned by the Apos- 
tle, 1 Tim. 2 : 1, are : Supplications, prayers, interces- 
sions, and giving of thanks. Regardless of special 
occasions for the one or the other, these four parts are 
found united in every prayer as the four spices in the 
sacrifice of incense under the old covenant. Ex. 30 : 34. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



409 



1. Supplications for the forgiveness of sins, for help 
and deliverance and for God's gifts. Ps. 20: 5, John 
16: 24. 

2. Prayers, in the special sense of praise, adoration. 
Ps. 147 : 1 ; 95 : 6. 

3. Intercessions, supplications for others. Col. 1:3; 
4 : 3, James 5 : 16. Matt. 5 : 44. Abraham prayed for 
Sodom, Gen. 18 ; Moses for his people, Ex. 32 : 11, 
Num. 14 : 13 ; the centurion of Capernaum for his sick 
servant, Matt. 8:5; Jesus prayed for Peter, Luke 22 : 
32, for His disciples and for all believers, John 17 : 
20, for His enemies, Luke 23 : 34. 

4. Giving of thanks for benefits received and deliver- 
ances experienced. Col. 1 : 12, Ps. 107. 

II. The Necessity of Prayer. 
Prayer is necessary for us : 

1. Because God requires it of us as the chief part of 
thankfulness. 

a) God requires prayer of us. Ps. 50 : 15 ; 27 : 8. 
Although God knows what we need and His purpose 
in relation to our salvation stands firm, yet He desires 
us to come before Him in prayer and supplication, in 
order that we may praise Him, and that our faith may 
be strengthened. Matt. 6 : 32, " . . . your heavenly 
Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things ;" 
and yet, Matt. 7 : 7, "Ask and it shall be given you." 
Luke 18 : 7. 

b) Prayer is the "chief part of thankfulness," 1) 
because it is the most direct expression of our grati- 
tude ; 2) because adoration is the highest honor we 
can pay to God ; 3) because it is necessary for us as an 
expression of the thanks we would bring to God in our 
good works. Ps. 50 : 14. 

2. Because we are in need of prayer. For " God 
will give his grace and Holy Spirit to those only, 

33 



410 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



a) " who with sincere desires continually ask them 
of him." Deut. 4: 29. Luke 11: 13, "If ye then, 
being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your chil- 
dren, how much more shall your heavenly Father give 
the Holy Spirit to them that ask him ?" This does not 
refer to the effect of grace and of the Holy Ghost in 
conversion ; for the Holy Ghost Himself is necessary 
to prayer. Rom. 8 : 26. When thankfulness in prayer 
is spoken of, the reference is to the children of God, 
asking for the increase of His gifts of grace and of the 
Spirit. 

b) " Who are thankful for them." Ps. 50 : 23. 
Example : The Samaritan who returned to give 

thanks, Luke 17 : 11-19 ; while the nine had merely 
received the healing of the body, the one who returned 
to give thanks experienced in addition a strengthening 
of his faith. 

Question 117. 

What are the requisites of that prayer, ivhich is acceptable to God, 
and which he will hear? 

First, that we from the heart pray to the one true God only, who 
hath manifested himself in his word, for all things he hath com- 
manded us to ask of him : secondly, that we rightly and thoroughly 
know our need and misery, that so we may deeply humble oursel- 
ves in the presence of his divine majesty ; thirdly, that we be fully 
persuaded that he, notwithstanding we are unworthy of it, will, for 
the sake of Christ our Lord, certainly hear our prayer, as he has 
promised us in his word. 

Not every prayer is acceptable to God and will be 
heard by Him. Isa. 1 : 15, James 4 : 3. Example : 
The prayer of the Pharisee in the temple. Luke 18 : 
11, 14. 

Therefore, if our prayer is to be heard of God, it must 
be of the right sort. We are to consider, 1) to whom, 
2) for what, and 3) how to pray. 

L To Whom we are to Pray. 

1. We are to pray " to the one true God only." 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



411 



a) This God is He " who hath manifested himself to 
us in his word," the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy 
Ghost. (Compare Ques. 25) Ps. 81 : 8, Matt. 4: 10. 

h) To this God we are to pray, because He alone is 
everywhere present and almighty, and, therefore, He 
alone can hear and answer prayer. Ps. 94 : 9 ; 115 : 6, 
Eph. 3 : 20. 

c) We may also pray to the Lord Jesus, indeed it is 
our special duty to do so, because He is true God, and 
to Him belongs the honor of worship. John 5: 23, 
Phil. 2 : 10. The disciples of Jesus worshipped Him 
at His ascension, Luke 24 : 52 ; Stephen prayed to 
Him, Acts 7 : 58. 

2. We are to pray to the one true God " only," but 
not forsooth to the angels, or the Virgin Mary, or the 
so-called saints. We are not to distinguish, as the 
Romish Church pretends to do, between " invocation" 
and " worship," for invocation in prayer is really wor- 
ship. Isa. 42 : 8. We do not at all need the saints as 
" intercessors," since Christ is our intercessor in heaven 
(1 John 2 : 1), and the Holy Ghost teaches us to say : 
Abba, Father. Rom. 8 : 15. 

II. For What we are to Pray. 

" For all things he hath commanded us to ask of 
Him." 1 John 5 : 14. Everything of a carnal nature, 
for which we might perchance pray, is excluded. 1 
Kings 3 : 9-13. It pleased the Lord that Solomon 
prayed for an understanding heart. "And God said 
unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast 
not asked for thyself long life ; neither hast asked 
riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine ene- 
mies : . . . . ; Behold, I have done according to 
thy words : lo, I have given thee a wise and an 
understanding heart, . . . That for which thou 
hast not prayed, I have also given thee, viz., riches and 
honor." Matt. 6 : 33, James 4 : 3. 



412 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



III. How we are to Pray. 

To pray acceptably to God, one must pray from the 
heart in humility anal in faith. 

1. " Pray from the heart." 

a) Devoutly (Andacht, from Andenken, to think 
upon), i. e., to direct all our thoughts, the whole heart, 
exclusively upon God, and to check all distracting 
thoughts. Lam. 3 : 41, Ps. 145 : 18, Heb. 10 : 22. 

b) In this way alone can we prevent prayer from 
becoming a mere lip-service, or from becoming a repe- 
tition of beautiful phrases. Matt, 1 5 : 8 ; 6 : 7. 

c) Prayer should be devout, whether one prays in 
one's own words, or in the words of another. To pray 
" from the heart" means something more than to pray 
heartily. By it free prayer is meant, or that one pray 
in one's own words, in distinction from prayer in the 
words of another, as by means of prayer books, hymn 
books or forms prescribed by the Church for religious 
service and worship. The necessity for these forms is 
found in the demand for order and uniformity, but free 
prayer should follow the sermon. The use of prayer 
books in family worship may be compared to crutches, 
but if they are in. accordance with the Word of God and 
breathe the spirit of prayer, they are not to be rejected, 
since it is always better to use crutches than not to 
walk at all. For prayer from the heart no rules can 
be prescribed ; for this the only teacher is the Holy 
Ghost (Rom. 8 : 26) and the proper models are the 
Psalms, the prayer book, as well as the hymn book 
of the children of God from of old. As a guide in 
prayer from the heart the explanation of the several 
petitions of the Lord's Prayer is put in the catechism 
in the form of prayer. 

2. "That we rightly and thoroughly know our need 
and misery, that so we may deeply humble ourselves 
in the presence of His divine majesty." 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 413 



a) The natural man can not pray in the true sense 
of the word, because he is encompassed with pride. 
Rev. v 3: 17. 

" Necessity teaches one to pray," i. e., it drives to 
prayer when one " rightly and thoroughly" knows his 
bodily and spiritual needs and miseries, and at the 
same time his own helplessness and un worthiness. 
Isa. 26 : 16. 

b) This knowledge, as well as the infinite exaltation 
(majesty) of God, before whom we appear in prayer, 
prompts us to humility. Ezra 9: 6, Isa. 6: 2-5. 
Abraham was an example of an humble intercessor. 
Gen. 18 : 27. 

An humble prayer is acceptable to the Lord. Ps. 34 : 
18. 

3. Such humility does not lead to discouragement, 
when the third part of prayer acceptable to God, the 
confidence of faith, is not wanting. " That we be fully 
persuaded, that he, notwithstanding we are unworthy 
of it, will, for the sake of Christ our Lord, certainly 
hear our prayer." God does not look upon the 
unworthiness of the believing petitioner, but upon the 
merits of His dear Son, who represents the one who 
prays before the Father ; to this we must firmly hold 
by faith. Dan. 9 : 18, James 1 : 6. Jacob is an exam- 
ple of one who prayed in confidence and who took fast 
hold of the Lord in faith. Gen. 32 : 26. 

4. Prayer in the name of Jesus includes all that 
belongs to a prayer acceptable to God. It means to pray 

a) At His bidding. John 16 : 24. 

b) In accordance with His will. Luke 22 : 42. 

c) Upon the ground of His merit, for the sake of 
which the Father looks upon us graciously, and without 
which we could not appear before Him in prayer. 
Eph. 3:12. • 

d) In accordance with His promise. John 14 : 13. 



414 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



IV. Why our Prayer is Heard by God. 

1. God's answer to the prayer of the believing soul 
is the hearing, i. e., the granting of that which is 
asked. The basis of the same with God is not the per- 
son of the petitioner, or the character of the prayer, 
but His promise. Ps. 91 : 15, Isa. 65 : 24, John 16 : 23. 

2. Examples of prayers that were heard : Elijah, 
James 5:17; Peter at the raising of Tabitha, Acts 9 : 
40 ; the Church at Jerusalem when Peter was in 
prison, Acts 12 : 5. 

3. God gives to the believing soul, by the testimony 
of the Holy Ghost, the assurance that his prayer will 
be heard. 1 John 5 : 15. In an extraordinary manner 
God gave assurance of the hearing of their prayer to 
the first Church at Jerusalem, Acts 4 : 31, and to the 
Apostle Paul and Silas, Acts 16 : 26. 

4. The answer to prayer does not always come imme- 
diately. God reserves His own time for all things. 
Eccles. 3: 11, John 2: 4. God wishes to try our 
faith. Hab. 2 : 3. Example : The Canaanitish woman, 
Matt. 15 : 22. Or God wishes to exercise us in perse- 
verance in prayer. Ps. 22 : 2. Example : The parable 
of the unjust judge and the widow. Luke 18. 

5. At times what is prayed for is not granted at all, 
just as a father refuses the unreasonable or even inju- 
rious requests of his child for the child's own good. 
Example: The prayer of Salome and her sons. Matt. 
20 : 20-22. Or our prayers are not in accord with 
God's gracious counsel concerning us, according to 
which He allows all things to work together for the 
good of those who love Him, who are the elect accord- 
ing to His purpose (Rom. 8 : 28), so that He may not 
grant our prayer for protection against a germing 
evil. Example: Paul (2 Cor. 12: 6-9), who had 
prayed thrice that the thorn in the flesh might depart 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 415 



from him, received, instead of having it granted, an 
answer, which at the same time was full of comfort : 
" My grace is sufficient for thee : for my strength is 
made perfect in weakness." Under such circumstances 
we are not to persist in our prayers, just as Paul 
acquiesced in the answer when he had besought the 
Lord " thrice." 

6. Examples of prayer : Abraham, Gen. 18 : 23- 
32 ; Jacob, Gen. 32: 9-12, 26 ; Moses, Ex. 32,33, 34; 
Hannah, 1 Sam, 1 : 2 ; David, 2 Sam. 7 and the 
Psalms ; Solomon, 1 Kings 3 ; Hezekiah, Isa. 38 ; Jesus,, 
Matt. 26 : 39-44. Compare Paul (2 Cor. 12 : 7-9 y 
also " thrice"). 

Question 118. 

What hath God commanded us to ask of him t 
All things necessary for soul and body ; which Christ our Lord 
has comprised in that prayer he nimself has taught us. 

1. We are to pray for " all things necessary," i. e. y 
for everything needful to the well-being of body and 
soul. On this account prayer to God is not only a 
privilege, but is also commanded. Phil. 4 : 6, James 
1: 17. 

a) Under spiritual need is included all that is neces- 
sary for us in relation to God's honor and our own 
salvation, such as forgiveness of sins, renewal by the 
Holy Ghost, living according to the will of God and 
eternal life. Ps. 51: 10, 11; 143: 10, James 1: 5. 
Spiritual need takes the precedence over bodily need, 
because the immortal soul stands higher than the mor- 
tal body, and eternal happiness higher than temporal. 
Matt. 6 : 33 ; 16 : 26. 

b) Under bodily need is included everything neces- 
sary for our support in an honorable life, such as 
health, food and clothing, possessions, a peaceful life, 
etc. Prov. 30 : 8, James 5 : 15. 

c) Prayers for the supply of our spiritual needs we 



416 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



may address to God without reservation ; in relation to 
our bodily needs we are to pray with the condition 
that God would give us when and what He pleases. 

2. Prayer for the supply of spiritual and bodily 
needs is to conform to the pattern of the prayer Christ 
Himself has taught us. Matt. 6: 9-13, Luke 11 : 2-4. 

a) When His disciples asked Him : Lord, teach us 
to pray, as also John (the Baptist) taught his disciples, 
Jesus gave them this prayer. (John had also taught 
his disciples a form of prayer.) That they were to use 
the same literally, is proved by the words of the Lord : 
" When ye pray, say,''' etc. Accordingly it is entirely 
proper that this prayer be used in the public congre- 
gation. Jesus did not lead His disciples in this prayer, 
so as to include Himself in it (compare, " forgive us 
our debts"), but He taught them the prayer that they 
might use it. 

b) The Lord did not wish to teach His disciples 
one prayer only, but He would also teach them to 
pray ; it is, therefore, to serve not merely as a form of 
prayer, but also as a model prayer according to con- 
tents and form, in order that we may learn from it 
what and how we are to pray. That the Apostles them- 
selves understood it in this way, is already to be 
inferred from the fact that this prayer is expressed in 
different forms by Matthew and Luke. At the same 
time it will remain for all time the prayer of prayers, 
and embraces everything needful for body and soul, 
for time and eternity. 

Question 119. 

What are the ivords of that prayer f 

Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy 
kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. 
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we 
forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us 
from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, 
forever. Amen. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 417 



1. The prayer is known as " the Lord's Prayer," 
because the Lord Himself gave it ; as " our Father," 
in accordance with the words at the beginning. 

2. The division of the prayer into three parts. 

a) It begins with an address : Our Father, which art 
in heaven. 

b) It contains six petitions. 

(1) Hallowed be thy name. 

(2) Thy kingdom come. 

(3) Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. 

(4) Give us this day our daily bread. 

(5) And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our 
debtors. 

(6) And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us 
from evil. 

c) It closes with a doxology : " For thine is the 
kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever," and 
with "Amen." 

3. The first three petitions relate to God's honor, the 
next three to our needs. Of these, two have reference 
to our spiritual and one to our bodily needs. (The 
fourth petition refers to the body — bread ; the fifth to 
the soul — sin ; the sixth to body and soul — evil.) The 
petitions do not use the singular " my," but the plural 
" our" and " us," thereby partaking of the nature of 
intercession, and reminding us that we stand in a com- 
munion of prayer with all believers. Intercessory 
prayer enlarges the heart and smothers selfishness. 
(The first three petitions correspond to the first table, 
and the last three to the second table of the law.) 

4. The sixth petition, " lead us not into temptation, 
but deliver us from evil," can not be divided into two 
petitions, as it forms, in thought as well as in construc- 
tion, a whole. 



418 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



Question 120. 

Why hath Christ commanded us to address God thus, " Our 
Father r 

That immediately, in the very beginning of our prayer, he might 
excite in us a childlike reverence for, and confidence in God, which 
are the foundation of our prayer ; namely that God is become our 
father in Christ, and will much less deny us what we ask of him in 
true faith, than our parents refuse us earthly things. 

Question 121. 

Why is there added, " which art in heaven ?" 

Lest we should form any earthly conceptions of God's heavenly 
majesty, and that we may expect from his almighty power all 
things necessary for soul and body. 

I. Our Father. 

1. We are to address God as Father ; for in this 
name is expressed His infinite love. The name does 
not merely include God the Father, the Father of 
Jesus Christ, but the Triune God is invoked thereby 
as " our Father." Gal. 4:6. 

2. The Triune God is our Father : 

a) By creation and redemption. Mai. 2 : 10 is 
spoken primarily not of all men, but of Israel, the peo- 
ple of God. Isa. 63 : 16, John 1 : 12. 

b) By election. Eph. 1 : 5, 6. 

c) By regeneration. 1 Peter 1 : 3. 

Therefore only the regenerated, believing Christian, 
the child of God, can in the true sense of the word 
pray " Our Father." To the natural man God stands 
in the relation of judge, not that of Father. 

3. The paternal love of God, which is expressed in 
the name Father, is to awaken in us childlike fear and 
confidence in God. 

a) Childlike fear carries with it the feeling of awe, 
i. e., reverence, but not that of dread of God. Rom. 8 : 
15, " For ye have not received the spirit of bondage 
again to fear (and in fear and dread to flee from God, as 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 419 



for example Israel, Ex. 20 : 18, 19) ; but ye have received 
the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." 

b) Childlike confidence is a firm trust in the paternal 
love of God. Ps. 89 : 26 ; 103 : 13. 

4. This confidence rests upon the fact " that God is 
become our Father in Christ, and will much less deny 
us what we ask of Him in true faith, than our parents 
will refuse us earthly things." 

a) God has become our Father in Christ (compare 
Ques. 26 and 33), and in Him gives us all things. 
Kom. 8 : 32. 

b) Divine paternal love far exceeds human love. 
Matt. 7:11, Isa. 49 : 15. 

5. The address " Our Father" stands " in the very 
beginning," in order that our entire prayer may be- 
pervaded by that childlike confidence, which is " the 
foundation of our prayer." It is the key-note of the 
prayer. Heb. 4 : 16. 

II. Which art in Heaven. 

1. Literally, " in the heavens," while the third peti- 
tion says " in heaven." We distinguish 1) the atmos- 
pheric heaven (the atmosphere, e. g. y the birds of 
heaven, Ps. 104 : 12) ; 2) the starry heaven (e. g., the 
heavens and all their host, Ps. 33 : 6), and 3) the 
place of the glory of God. Ps. 103 : 19. The last is to 
be understood here and in the third petition. Al- 
though God is everywhere, and is nigh unto us in all 
places, yet we are to address Him in " heaven," in 
order that we may continue mindful of His majesty, 
i. e., His exaltation and dominion over all creatures. 
Ps. 113 : 5, 6, 7. 

2 We derive a two-fold benefit from keeping " God's 
heavenly majesty" in view. 

a) " That we do not form any earthly conceptions of 
Him," i. e., do not form any earthly notions concern- 



420 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



ing Him. 1 Kings 8 : 27. We are to pray in confi- 
dence, but we are to guard against unseemly intimacy 
with God in prayer ; our Father is also our God. We 
are to pray in a childlike manner, but not childishly 
(with effeminate feelings and expressions). A child, 
in his intercourse with his father, will never neglect 
the reverence which is due to him, just as we do not 
forget that the ruler of a country is also its lord. 

Example : Abraham, although the Lord spake to 
him in great condescension, "Shall I hide from Abra- 
ham that thing which I do ?" (Gen. 18 : 17) and he 
was called the Friend of God (James 2 : 23), yet he 
says (v. 27) : " Behold now, T have taken upon me to 
speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes." 

b) That we may not think lightly of God's heavenly 
majesty, nor doubt the same, but " expect from his 
almighty power all things necessary for soul and 
body," and trust in Him that He can do and give all 
things. Ps. 115: 3, Luke 1 : 37, Rom. 10: 12. 

Question 122. 

Which is the first petition f 

'* Hallowed be thy name ;" that is, grant us first rightly to 
know thee, and to sanctify, glorify and praise thee in all thy works, 
in which thy power, wisdom, goodness, justice, mercy and truth, are 
clearly displayed ; and further also, that we may so order and 
direct our whole lives, our thoughts, words and actions, as that thy 
name may never be blasphemed, but rather honored and praised 
on our account. 

That the Name of God be Hallowed. 

This is the first petition : 

1. Because the glorification of God is the first and 
highest end of all creatures. Rom. 11 : 36. 

2. Because all who would approach God in prayer, 
must be impressed with His excellence and holiness. 
Lev. 10 : 3. 

The name of God is to be hallowed, 1) by us, and 2) 
through us. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 421 



I. By Us. 

1. God revealed Himself by His name, which we 
learn to know in His Word and in His works. The 
name of God sets forth His being, and, therefore, Him- 
self ; in the works of God " are displayed," i. e., are 
visible His attributes. 

To hallow God's name means, to give God the honor 
which belongs to Him. Ps. 115: 1. 

2. Above all we pray that God Himself would let 
us rightly know His name. Such knowledge, however, 
is not merely a matter of the understanding, but also 
of the heart, as at the same time it includes faith also. 
John 17 : 3, Ps. 119 : 18. 

3. The knowledge of the name of God is derived 
from the knowledge of His works. 

a) The work of creation, whereby God has created 
and still preserves all things. Ps. 19 : 1. 

b) The work of redemption, whereby God has 
redeemed us through Christ and renews us by the 
Holy Ghost, and will make us eternally happy. John 
3: 16. 

4. In these works are displayed, i. e., appear the 
essential attributes of God. 

a) In the works of creation : 

1. God's power. Rom. 1 : 19, 20. 

2. His wisdom. Ps. 104 : 24. 

3. His goodness. Ps. 36 : 5. 

b) In the work of redemption : 

1. God's justice. 2 Cor. 5: 21. 

2. His mercy. Tit. 3 : 5. 

3. His truth. John 17 : 19. 

4. We give expression to the knowledge of the ex- 
cellence and holiness of God, which we have derived 
from His works, by glorifying and praising His name. 
Ps. 105 : 3, Ex. 15 : 2. 



422 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



II. Through Us. 

1. Not merely in our prayers are we to glorify and 
praise the name of God, but our whole life, all our 
thoughts, words, and works are to be an act of praise to 
God, that through us His name may be hallowed, i. e., 
that it may be made manifest what a glorious God is 
ours, who makes saints of sinners ! Ps. 31 : 3, 2 Thess, 
1: 11, 12. 

2. We must, therefore, " so order and direct our 
whole lives :" 

a) That the name of God may never be blasphemed 
on our account, which would happen if we confess the 
name of the Lord and do not live according to His 
Word. He who confesses the name of Jesus with his 
mouth, but not in his life, either deceives himself, 
which is sad, or he would deceive others by acting the 
hypocrite, which is still worse. 2 Tim. 2 : 19, Rom. 
14: 16. 

b) That through our conversation and life others also 
may be incited to turn to God, and thereby to honor 
and to praise him. Ps. 51 : 13, Matt. 5 : 16. 

Question 123. 

Which is the second petition f 
Thy kingdom come ;" that is, rule us so by thy word and 
Sprit, that we may submit ourselves more and m >re to thee ; pre- 
serve and increase thy Church ; destroy the works of the devil, and 
all violence which would exalt itself against thee, and also all 
wicked counsels devised against thy holy word, until the full per- 
fection of thy kingdom takes place, wherein thou shalt be all in all. 

1. The kingdom of God is distinguished from crea- 
tion or nature, in which God manifests His sovereignty 
-over all created things (Ps. 135 : 6), and also from the 
world, which through sin is under the dominion of the 
prince of darkness. 1 John 5 : 19. 

2. The kingdom of God is in the world, but not of 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



423 



the world (John 18 : 36), i. e., it is not after the fash- 
ion of a world-kingdom ; it extends beyond the world 
into heaven, from which it arose (Dan. 2 : 44), where- 
fore it is also called the kingdom of heaven ; in the 
same way it also extends beyond time into eternity 
(Dan. 4: 34). 

3. The kingdom of God is the realm of the revela- 
tion of divine grace, power and glory, in heaven and 
upon earth. In the world it is found wherever the 
Triune God rules men's hearts in righteousness and 
grace. The outward, visible Church, which is com- 
posed of all who are baptized, is not the kingdom of 
God. It is the institution for the gathering and per- 
fecting of the elect of God. The kingdom of God 
upon earth is, therefore, included in the Church, and 
in this sense it is true that " out of the Church there is 
no salvation." (Extra ecclesiam nulla salus.) 

4. " Kingdom of God" is a figurative expression, 
derived from earthly, human relations. An earthly 
kingdom is an orderly community governed by a ruler. 
God's kingdom is called in Scripture literally "the king- 
dom of God," and the heavenly kingdom " the king- 
dom of heaven." 1. The King is the Triune God, and 
since the completion of redemption, especially the Son 
of God, Jesus Christ, to whom the Father has given 
all power in heaven and upon earth (Ps. 110: 1,2, 
Matt. 28 : 18), and who sits at His right hand (Mark 
16 : 19), until all shall have been accomplished. 1 Cor. 
15 : 27, 28. 2. The real subjects upon earth are 
Christian believers. John 18: 37, Ps. 110: 3.. In 
heaven they are the angels and the saints made per- 
fect. 3. The members of the kingdom are not confined 
to any land or people upon the earth. Acts 10 : 35. 
No one is excluded on account of his belonging to any 
one people. Col. 3 : 11. 4. Therefore there are no 
limitations to this kingdom. Acts 1:8. 5. The law 



424 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



of the kingdom is the Holy Scripture. Isa. 2:3. 6. 
The fundamental law of the kingdom is love. Matt. 
22 : 37-40, Col. 3 : 14. 7. The blessing of the king- 
dom is redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ, 
together with all its possessions and benefits. Rom. 14 : 
17. 8. The ordinances of the kingdom are the preach- 
ing of the Word of God and the administration of the 
holy sacraments, and everything incidental thereto. 
Eph. 4 : 11, 12. 9. The arch-enemy of the kingdom is 
satan, with all his hosts. 10. The wars of the king- 
dom are directed against the power of sin and the 
kingdom of darkness. 11. The weapons of the war- 
riors are the Word or* God and prayer. Eph. 6 : 12, 
17, Matt. 17 : 21. 12. The purpose and end of the 
kingdom is the honor of God. 

5. The kingdom of God is already in the world, and 
yet we are to pray, Thy kingdom come ; for it is still 
coming, so that it may become more powerful in us, 
outside of us, that it may be more widely extended. 

I. The Kingdom of Grace. 

1. We pray God to govern us, the members of His 
kingdom and His subjects, i. e., that He direct all our 
thoughts, purposes and desires, words and deeds accord- 
ing to His grace. Col. 3 : 15, Isa. 48 : 17. 

2. God governs us by His Word and Spirit (compare 
Ques. 31) ; by His Word, Ps. 25 : 4, 5 ; by His Spirit, 
Ps. 143 : 10. The Word and Spirit of God do not 
work separately, but conjointly. 

3. Its end is that we may subject ourselves more and 
more to God, i. <?., become obedient. The regenerate 
also have not yet attained perfect obedience, but they 
must learn the same and increase in it more and more. 
Net in words, but in obedience to the commandments of 
God do we recognize how far the kingdom of God has 
advanced in us. For the kingdom of God is not in 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



425 



word, but iu power. 1 Cor. 4: 20, Ex. 24: 7, Heb. 
12: 28. 

II. The Kingdom of Power. 

1. The work of the kingdom of God upon earth is 
committed to weak human hands. 1 Cor. 3 : 7, 8, 9. 
Therefore we are to pray that God by the power of 
His Spirit may maintain and increase His Church. 

a) God preserves His Church in that He maintains 
His Word in it, and when through the indolence of 
men it has come into disrepute, or has been neglected, 
He awakens a hunger after the bread of life, or places 
the word again upon the candlestick. This took place 
most manifestly in the Reformation, after the Church 
had entirely neglected His Word and had been sunk 
for centuries in superstition and the works of men. Ps. 
51 : 18 ; 68 : 28. 

b) Everything living must increase, if it is not to 
retrograde ; in life nothing is stationary. So it is also 
with the kingdom of the living God upon earth. 

Therefore we pray that He should not only inwardly 
strengthen His Church, but outwardly increase the 
same. Acts 2 : 47. 

The spread of the kingdom of God is accomplished 
among the heathen, the Jews and Mohammedans 
through missionary activity. We should never pray 
the Lord's Prayer without remembering especially in 
connection with the second petition the work of evan- 
gelical missions, in which God manifests Himself as 
the "Augmenter of the kingdom." In the foreign 
missionary field 6250 missionaries from Christian lands 
are at present at work, of whom 3000 are ordained and 
750 unordained missionaries, and 2500 are women; of 
heathen Christians 27,000 are missionary laborers, and 
among them 2506 are ordained pastors. In a hundred 
years about 3,000,000 heathen have been converted to 
Christ by the grace of God through the work of evan- 
34 



426 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



gelical missions of all lands. The blessing of the Lord 
is manifest in this work. But the number of heathen 
who are yet strangers to the kingdom is still great, 
numbering about 800,000,000. Matt, 9 : 37, 38. 

•Parables relating to the extension of the kingdom of 
God: The grain of mustard seed, Matt. 13: 31, 32; 
the leaven (v. 33). 

2. The kingdom of God stands in opposition to the 
world and to sin ; therefore it is opposed by the world 
and its prince. To overcome these powers, God must 
come to our aid, by manifesting the power of His arm 
and His judgment. 

a) We, therefore, pray God to destroy the works of 
the devil. Everything that is done to injure and 
oppose the kingdom of God is the devil's work. He 
opposes the truth of God with his lies which are agree- 
able to the carnal heart. All the arts designed to 
seduce men by means of false doctrine into error, super- 
stition and unbelief, into sin and vice, are his works ; 
he also often causes bitterness and strife among those 
who are of the same household of faith. 1 John 3 : 8, 
Eom. 16 : 20, Eph. 4 : 27. Compare the parable of 
the tares among the wheat. Matt. 13 : 24, 25, 28. 

b) The world which is obedient to him, and those 
whom he deceives, he uses as his instruments against 
the kingdom of God. They are the enemies of man- 
kind, who rise up against God in their might, or devise 
evil counsels against God's holy Word. We pray God 
to bring to naught both their power and counsel. 

(1) The enemies outside of the kingdom of God seek 
to suppress and destroy it by external means. Pharaoh, 
Herod. Similar testimony is found in the entire his- 
tory of the Christian Church, from the time of Julian, 
the apostate, to Louis XIV., and the tyrants of the 
French Revolution. The first Christian congregation 
prayed against the tyrants who persecuted the kingdom 
of God. Acts 4: 24-30, Ps. 129: 5, Num. 10: 35. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 427 



(2) Enemies within the kingdom of God are those 
who dilute the Word of God within the Church, or 
adulterate sound doctrine and undermine the founda- 
tions of the Church by evil counsels. Therefore we 
pray God to thwart such efforts. Ps. 83: 3, Phil. 3 : 
18, Ps. 5 : 10. 

(3) Prayer for the kingdom strengthens the courage 
of faith and enjoys the assured promise that the king- 
dom of God will be maintained even in its direst 
extremities, and will at length come forth triumphant 
from all its persecutions. The entire 46th Psalm 
(from which Luther's battle hymn for the imperial 
host of God, "A Safe Stronghold is our God," was 
composed). Matt. 18 : 20, Luke 12 : 32. 

III. The Kingdom of Glory. 

The kingdom of God will be made manifest in 
glory at its consummation at the end of the world. 
The glory will principally consist in this, that the 
members of the kingdom will be freed from all weak- 
ness which may still cleave to them, as well as from 
all their temptations and struggles, because God will 
then be all in all (not in all men, but in all His elect). 
1 Cor. 15 : 28. 

1. To the individual members of the kingdom the 
glory thereof is revealed at the end of their days. 2 
Tim. 4 : 18. 

2. To the Church, the community of believers, it 
comes at the end of all days, when Jesus, their Lord 
and Head, will come again in glorv. Rev. 21 : 2 ; 22 : 
17, 20. 

Question 124. 

Which is the third petition f 

" Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven ;" that is, 
grant that we and all men may renounce our own will, and without 
murmuring obey thy will, which is only good ; that so every one 
may attend to, and perform the duties of his station and calling, as 
willingly and faithfully as the angels do in heaven. 



428 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



I. Renouncing One's Own Will. 

1. By nature the will of man is evil, corrupt, and 
turned against God's will. Therefore it is necessary 
for us to renounce our own self-asserting will, i. e. y 
renounce our evil lusts, desires and inclinations, sup- 
press the same, and subdue the will. Matt. 16 : 24. 

2. We often experience great difficulty in doing this, 
and it involves a struggle, in which, without God's 
gracious help, we cannot prevail ; wherefore we are to 
pray : Grant unto us, O God, strength to overcome. 2 
Cor. 3:5. 

3. We are to make this prayer also for all men, 
because they all by nature have this corrupt will, and 
our love is to embrace all men. Eccles. 12 : 13. 

II. Obedience to the Will of God. 

1. As our own will is by nature totally corrupt, so 
God's will is only good. As little as we can of ourselves 
renounce our own will, so little can we subject our 
hearts to the will of God. Therefore we are to pray : 
Grant unto us, give us strength that we may obey thy 
will. Jer. 7 : 23. 

2. There is a distinction to be made between the 
secret and the revealed will of God. 

a) The secret will of God we can discern only in the 
way in which He leads us, which we often do not 
understand. We are, therefore, to pray for strength 
that we may submit to His will without gainsaying, 
and to yield ourselves to the same without murmuring. 
His will is to be done in us. 1 Peter 4 : 19. Acts 21 : 
14, " The will of the Lord be done." Thus spake the 
Christians in Cesarea, when Paul was journeying to 
Jerusalem, where he was to be arrested, and when he 
would not allow himself to be turned back. 

b) The revealed will of God we learn from His 
Word, the Law and the Gospel. In particular cases 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 429 



we must be careful not to deceive ourselves and regard 
as God's will what we would like to have and to clo. 
Rom. 12 : 2. 

3. There are circumstances and relations in life, 
when God's will is to be done by us, and other rela- 
tions when it is to be done in us, viz., when we suffer 
according to God's will for the same reason for which 
we do His will. Heb. 10 : 36. 

4. Christ has given to us the most exalted example 
in His life and in His sufferings of how God's will is 
to be done, both by us and in us. John 4 : 34, Luke 
22: 42. 

III. The Fulfillment of our Calling. 

1. We are not to think that we are to do God's will 
only in particular acts. The truth is, rather, that 
daily and hourly we have opportunity to do the same 
in our station and calling, i. e., in the duties and 
responsibilities which the special positions of life place 
upon each one ; and we often find the small and simple 
duties of life, which recur daily, more difficult than 
the performance of something great. 

Every one is to be contented in his station and call- 
ing, i. e., in the position in life appointed him by God, 
and whatever it brings with it, he is to perform wil- 
lingly, cheerfully, faithfully and carefully. 1 Cor. 7 : 
20, Luke 16 : 10. 

2. As the angels in heaven, viz., as willingly and 
faithfully, the children of God are to fulfill their call- 
ing upon earth. Ps. 103 : 20, 21. 

The example of the angels is to have an effect upon 
us, because we are their companions in the kingdom of 
God. Heb. 12 : 22, 23. 



430 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



Question 125. 

Which is the fourth petition t 

" Give us this day our daily bread ;" that is, be pleased to 
provide us with all things necessary for the body, that we may 
thereby acknowledge thee to be the only fountain of all good, and 
that neither our care nor industry nor even thy gifts, can profit us 
without thy blessing, and that we may withdraw our trust from all 
creatures, and place it alone in thee. 

1. By " our daily bread" we are to understand all 
the physical necessaries of life. They are called bread, 
because it is the most indispensable for the support of 
the bodily life. 

2. That is our bread which we do not procure by 
unlawful means, as by theft, covetousness, cheating or 
begging, but such as we pray for and labor for in our 
ordinary calling. Gen. 3 : 19, 2 Thess. 3 : 12. 

" Work and pray." (Proverb.) 

3. By daily bread we understand everything that we 
need for the day in order to live. Heb. 13 : 5. 

All believers have a filial right to daily bread. Matt. 
7 : 8, 9, 11. 

4. Give unto us. In this connection we are not only 
to think of ourselves and of our own needs, but also of 
those who are in want. Isa. 58 : 7. 

5. This day. We are not to pray for provisions for 
days and years to come, which fosters covetousness and 
parsimony, and which prayer God will not hear. The 
expression also teaches us that we are to come to God 
with our prayer every day. Matt. 6 : 34. 

Neither do we know whether we will be alive yet 
and in need of bread on the morrow. Prov. 27 : 1. 

6. We also pray that God would provide us with ail 
the physical necessaries of life. Ps. 145 : 15, 16. 

7. From this prayer we are to learn : 1) to recognize 
that God is the fountain of all good ; 2) that without 
His blessing nothing can prosper; 3) to place our 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 431 



trust in Him alone. Thus 1) our faith is strengthened, 
2) our humility is promoted, 3) our confidence is 
increased. 

I. That God is the Fountain of All Good. 

1. Although our daily bread is a natural product, it 
does not come from nature, not from the creature, but 
from the Creator. Ps. 104: 13, 14, Acts 14: 15, 17. 

2. Therefore we are to pray to Him, the Giver of all 
good, for our daily bread. Ps. 85 : 12 ; 65 : 2. 

II. That Without God's Blessing Nothing Can Profit Us. 

1. The blessing of God crowns our labor with suc- 
cess, which He alone can give, and constitutes the 
strength of our food. 1 Cor. 3 : 7, Prov. 10 : 22, Deut. 
8 : 3, Matt. 4 : 4. 

2. The credit is not to be given to our anxieties and 
labor, although these are our portion. For by cares 
are not to be understood worldly cares, to which God 
does not give His blessing, for they are an offense to 
Him, but the careful and thoughtful attention to our 
labors, how we are to begin them at the right time and 
in the right way, and carry them to completion. Ps. 
127 : 1, 2. 

3. Even the smallest of God's gifts may by His 
blessing be increased so as to supply our wants. Com- 
pare the widow's cruse of oil at Zarephath. 1 Kings 
17 : 14-16 ; and the feeding of the thousands, Mark 
6: 41, 42; 8: 6-8. 

On the contrary, without God's blessing His gifts 
cannot profit, i. e., fulfil their purpose. Lev. 26 : 5, 14, 
26, Hag. 2 : 17, 19. 

" Everything depends upon God's blessing." (Prov- 
erb.) 

in. That We Place Our Trust Alone in God. 

1. The human heart is too much inclined to seek 
refuge with the creature, i. e., with other men, and to 



432 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



rely upon the ordinary natural course of things. But 
all creatures, as well as the entire creation, are in God's 
hands. We are not to place our trust in the creature, 
but in the Creator, and in Him alone. 

a) Confidence in weak, mortal men is vain ; for 
either they are not able or not willing to help us. On 
the contrary, God can and will give His own all the 
necessaries of life. 

b) God is thereby displeased, for such a reliance in 
man is at the same time distrust of God. But He is 
honored by us as is becoming when we put all our con- 
fidence in Him alone, since He is the fountain of all 
good. 

2. He who prays to God needs not beg of men. Ps. 
146: 3,5; 62: 10; 55: 22. 

3. In one of the persecutions which in the 17th cen- 
tury came upon the Beforined ministers of Scotland, 
Andrew Duncan was driven into banishment, and with 
his wife and six children was reduced to direst need. 
One evening, when the children cried for bread, and 
none was to be had, the poor exile sought refuge in 
God by prayer, to whom he committed his hungry 
children and his wife, who was approaching confine- 
ment, deprived of every necessity. Thereurjon he 
admonished his family to wait patiently upon God, 
who was now chastening them, but who would surely 
•care for them, even if He must rain bread from heaven. 
There was no one in the place nor in the region who 
knew them or was aware of their need. The next 
morning very early a man came into the house, who 
brought them a sack of provisions and went away again 
without telling them whence he came, although they 
begged him to do so. When not long thereafter in the 
night Duncan's wife approached her hour and no human 
belp was nigh, there came a lady of rank and offered 
jher services, and after sending away her servant with 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 433 



her carriage, asked permission to be allowed to remain 
with the lonely woman. This she did throughout a 
number of days and nights until her services were no 
longer needed, and at her departure left what their 
most pressing needs required. Notwithstanding all 
their entreaties, she would neither say who she was nor 
whence she came. 

Question 126. 

Which is the fifth petition t 

"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debt- 
ors ;" that is, be pleased for the sake of Christ's blood not to im- 
pute to us, poor sinners, our transgressions, nor that depravity 
which always cleaves to us ; even as we feel this evidence of thy 
grace in us, that it is our firm resolution from the heart to forgive 
our neighbor. 

In the law God tells us what He demands of us and 
what we owe, i. e., are in duty bound to do. We owe 
what according to the law of God is our duty to do, but 
have not done (whether it be through transgression or 
omission). Every transgression against God to the 
extent to which it demands atonement, i. e., recom- 
pense, is sin. Atonement for sin and guilt is made 
either by restitution or by punishment, and as we can- 
not render the former, the latter only remains. Pun- 
ishment can be remitted to us only by the forgiveness 
of the debt. We pray therefore : forgive us our debts, 
i. e., we acknowledge that we are in debt ; but we can 
render no satisfaction, and yet would become free from 
guilt and punishment. Therefore we take refuge in 
His grace. 

I. Our Debts. 

1. Confession must be preceded by knowledge. 

a) In the first place sin is recognized in its outward 
manifestations as transgression (i. e., as consisting of 
perverted, evil deeds, acts which are contrary to the 
law). Ps. 90: 8, 1 John 3: 4. 



434 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



b) Not only the transgression, but also its root, the 
evil in the heart which always cleaves to us, the evil 
desire and inclination, is sin before God. Heb. 12 : 1, 
Gen. 6 : 5 ; 8 : 21. 

2. According to His holiness and justice God must 
account us guilty, i. e. f hold us responsible and punish 
us. Job 9: 2, 3, Isa. 65: 6, 7. They are called 
" debts," on account of the multitude of individual sins. 
Ps. 19 : 12. " Our debts," because we are also to pray 
for the forgiveness of the sins of all the people of God, 
in whose communion we stand. Neh. 1:6. In this 
are to be included the sins of our enemies which they 
have committed against us. Matt. 5 : 44, Luke 23 : 34. 

II. God's Forgiveness. 

1. In the prayer " forgive us our debts" we take ref- 
uge in the grace of God, in that we acknowledge our- 
selves guilty, indeed as " poor sinners" who have not 
within themselves the power to pay the debt, to put 
away sin. Ps. 38 : 4. 

2. Therefore we pray God not to impute to us our 
debt, not to demand any payment from us, neither as 
restitution which we cannot render, nor as punishment 
which we cannot bear. Ps. 51 : 1, Pom. 4 : 8. Exam- 
ple : The publican in the temple. Luke 18 : 13, 14. 

3. For this we appeal to our surety, Jesus Christ, 
who has paid the debt for us. " For the sake of Christ's 
blood." Eph. 1:7. 

4. We need to pray daily for the forgiveness of our 
debts, because we sin daily. This was also the signifi- 
cance of the morning and evening sacrifice of the chil- 
dren of Israel, at each of which a lamb was slain. 
Num. 28 : 3, 4. 

III. Forgiveness by God Demands a Forgiving Heart. 

1. As God forgives us, so also we are to forgive our 
debtors, i. e., forgive the debts of all those who have 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 435 



sinned against us. This is to be done from the heart, 
i. e., freely and fully. Matt. 18 : 21, 22. 

2. That we cherish this " firm resolution," i. e., are 
earnestly and at all times ready to forgive, testifies to 
the grace of God in us, which alone can soften the hard 
heart and bring about a forgiving spirit, and is at the 
same time an evidence of our thankfulness to God for 
the forgiveness of our debts. 1 John 3 : 14, Col. 3 : 13. 

3. On the other hand, a forgiving heart is also a 
condition of God's forgiving our debts, but in no way 
a reason. The two are entirely distinct. Christ says 
immediately after the Lord's Prayer, Matt. 6 : 14, 15, 
" For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly 
Father will also forgive you : But if ye forgive not 
men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive 
your trespasses." The explanation is found in the 
parable of the wicked servant. Matt. 18 : 23-35. The 
Lord remitted the debt of the servant unconditionally 
over and above his request, but when he treated his 
fellow-servants with severity, the Lord withdrew from 
him His grace and delivered him to his deserved pun- 
ishment. Verse 35. 

Cyprian (Bishop of Carthage, died 258) : " The 
prayer for food is followed by the prayer for forgive- 
ness of debts, that he who is fed by God, may live in 
God and may think not only of the present, temporal 
life, but also of the eternal life, to which he can attain 
only when his sins are forgiven. This petition is an 
excellent confession of the Church, acknowledging and 
bewailing her sins, and at the same time a comfort, 
because in response to it she receives the forgiveness of 
sins in accordance with the promise of Christ. Finally 
it is also an obligation to mutual forgiveness. Christ 
has in view, therefore, in this petition : 1) that we 
should acknowledge our sins ; 2) that we should thirst 
after the forgiveness of sins, because only those become 



436 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



partakers of it who earnestly desire the same, and who 
do not trample under foot the blood of the Son of God ; 
3) that our faith may be exercised, because this peti- 
tion proceeds from faith and at the same time again 
strengthens faith ; for faith is the source of this peti- 
tion, and this petition again is the occasion of faith, 
because it has reference to its growth.'' 

Question 127. 

Which is the sixth petition f 

" And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from 
evil ;" that is, since we are so weak in ourselves that we cannot 
stand a moment ; and besides this, since our mortal enemies, the devil, 
the world, and our own flesh, cease not to assault us, do thou, there- 
fore, preserve and strengthen us by the power of thy Holy Spirit, 
that we may not be overcome in this spiritual warfare, but constantly 
and strenuously may resist our foes, until at last we obtain a com- 
plete victory. 

1. To tempt means, 1) to put one on trial as God tried 
Abraham at the offering of his son Isaac, Gen. 22 : 1, 
Dent. 13 : 3, or as Jesus tried Philip at the feeding of 
the multitude, John 6 : 5, 6 ; 2) To incite one to evil. 
Here it has the second meaning in the sense that God 
has given us to the devil, the world or our own flesh to 
tempt us. For no temptation can come upon us without 
the will of God. Matt. 4 : 1. Thus God leads into 
temptation. In the same manner the tempter can only 
exercise his art upon the children of God when he is 
permitted to do so by God, as we see in the case of Job. 
Job 1 : 12 ; 2 : 6. Only the testing proceeds from 
God, but not the incitement to evil. James 1 : 13. 

We pray therefore: 1) That God would not deliver 
us to our enemies to tempt us ; 2) That if it should be 
His will so to do according to His counsel, we be not 
tempted beyond what we are able to bear, but that God 
would keep and strengthen us in the temptation. 

Calvin, in reference to the passage, James 1 : 13, says : 
" It is clearly apparent that the outward temptations of 



THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 



437 



which the apostle made mention in vv. 2-12, are sent to 
us by God. In this sense God tempted Abraham (Gen. 
22), and tempts us daily, i. e., He puts us on trial in 
that opportunity is given us to reveal our disposition. 
But it is something entirely different to bring to the 
surface what is hidden in the heart, from inwardly in- 
citing the heart to evil passions. In this connection 
the reference is to inward temptations, which are noth- 
ing else but the inordinate desires tempting us to sin. 
The apostle rightly denies that God is their author, be- 
cause they come forth from our corrupt nature. This 
reminder is necessary because nothing is more common 
among men than to ascribe the cause of the evil they do 
to another, and they feel most free of all when they can 
shift the responsibility upon God Himself. This artful 
device to cover one's tracks was resorted to by our first 
parents, and we eagerly imitate them in this respect. 
Therefore James leads us to the acknowledgment of our 
own guilt that we may not misrepresent God as if He 
Himself had incited us to sin. To this seems to be op- 
posed the tenor of that Scripture which teaches that man 
has been blinded by God, has been given over to a rep- 
robate mind and to shameful and forbidden lusts. To 
this I reply that perhaps on this very account James 
was led to deny that we are tempted of God, because the 
wicked are fond of furnishing Scripture proof in exten- 
uation of their conduct. But two things are to be no- 
ticed in this connection : When the Scriptures attribute 
the blinding and hardening of the heart to God (Ex. 
9 : 12), it does not set Him forth either as the beginner 
or as the author thereof, so that the responsibility would 
fall upon Him. James is here concerned with these 
two points only. Do the Scriptures maintain that those 
rejected by the Lord are given over to abominable lusts 
(Bom. 1 : 26), because perchance the Lord leads astray 
and corrupts their heart? In no wise ; for it is subjec- 



438 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



ted to evil lusts because it is already sinful and corrupt. 
Or when God blinds or hardens, is He then the author 
or servant of sin ? Much rather does He in this way 
punish sin and gives the wicked who will not be con- 
trolled by His spirit, their just deserts. It, therefore, 
follows that neither the origin of sin lies in God nor 
can the cause of it be ascribed to Him as if He found 
pleasure in evil. Lastly it is a vain subterfuge when a 
man seeks to lay the burden of his sins upon God be- 
cause all evil of every sort comes from nowhere except 
from the corrupt inclination of man. And the fact is 
that we are urged on in no other way, but each one is 
led and impelled by his own corrupt desires. That God 
tempts no one is confirmed by this fact, that He Him- 
self is not tempted by evil. Therefore it is only the 
devil who incites us to sin, because he is utterly con- 
sumed by a burning desire to sin. God has no pleasure 
in evil and is not the author thereof when we do evil." 

2. " Deliver us from the evil one" is altogether to be 
preferred to the rendering " from evil," as the former ex- 
pression embraces both the evil one and evil, and " evil" 
also embraces sin as well as evil. The Greek expression 
for the " evil one," i. e., the devil, occurs in Matt. 5 : 37 
(where it cannot mean " evil") ; Matt 13 : 19, 38, Eph. 
6 : 16, 2 Thess. 3 : 3, John 17 : 15, 1 John 2 : 13, 14; 
3: 12; 5: 18, 19. 

I. The Combatants. 

1. On the one side " in this spiritual warfare" are the 
children of God, who, however, are so weak in them- 
selves that they cannot for one moment stand in their 
own strength. Matt. 26: 41, John 15 : 5. 

Peter in his presumption is an example of warning 
to us. Matt. 26 : 33. He fell more deeply when he 
was tempted than almost any other Christian, v. 74. 

2. On the other side, are the," enemies which we have 
renounced, the devil, the world and our own flesh," all 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 439 



of them strong: confederates to whom all means are law- 
ful. 

a) " Enemies which we have renounced" are those 
from whose good will and friendship we have with- 
drawn ourselves. The so-called " renunciation" for- 
merly preceded every feud ; it was the same as that 
which to-day yet in general is the declaration of war. 
But these enemies are so embittered against us because 
they have lost their control over us by our renunciation. 

b) Their weapons are lying and deception, by which 
they force their way in upon us through temptations 
and assaults. At one time we are brought to despair 
by sorrow and want, or to unbelief by our doubts, at 
another time we are led astray into presumption by riches 
and prosperity. 

1. The chief enemy is the devil, " the ancient Prince 
of Hell," " strong mail of Craft and Power he weareth 
in this hour." The world and the flesh are his soldiers. 
1 Peter 5 : 8, Luke 22 : 31. 

He does not always come as a roaring lion, but often- 
times also as an angel of light, just as he did when he 
used Scripture in the temptation of the Savior. 2 Cor. 
11 : 14. With all sorts of flattering insinuations he 
wishes to betray the children of God into false security 
or pride, and thereby bring about their ruin. " Dear 
pastor, what a beautiful sermon you preached to-day," 
was remarked to a minister at the church door. " So I 
was informed by the devil when I left the pulpit," was 
the further comment of the minister. 

When John Knox (d. Nov. 24, 1572), the Reformer 
of Scotland, lay upon his death bed, a friend found him 
the evening before the day of his death in a restless 
slumber broken by heavy sighs. After he awoke he 
asked him why he had sighed so deeply. Knox an- 
swered : " I have in my life endured many assaults of 
Satan through his holding up before me my sins to bring 



440 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



me to despair ; but God gave me strength to overcome 
his temptations. Now the crafty serpent which never 
ceases its tempting has taken another course, seeking to 
persuade me that my many labors in my spiritual 
calling and my faithfulness in the service of God 
have secured for me heaven and eternal life. But 
praised be the Lord who has given me strength to quench 
these fiery darts by bringing to my mind such passages 
of Scripture as these: What hast thou that thou didst 
not receive? and by the grace of God I am what lam. 
In the face of these passages Satan has gone away 
ashamed and will not return again, for I have been as- 
sured that the eud of my struggle is near, and that I 
shall soon exchange without pain and anxiety this mor- 
tal and miserable life for that happy and eternal one.'* 

2. The world, i. e., wicked men and every opportun- 
ity to enter into temptation in daily life, seeks at one 
time through its allurements, at another time by threats, 
to draw us again under its corrupting influence, after 
we have escaped the same by following after Christ. 
Prov. 1: 10, John 15: 19. 

3. Our own flesh, i. e., the inclination to sin which 
still cleaves to the children of God, as the inclination to 
intemperance, unchastity, to pride, etc. Gal. 5 : 17, 
James 1 : 14. 

H. Our Help. 

These enemies which abound on every hand, without 
and within, no less than the knowledge of our own 
weakness, impel us to pray that God would keep us and 
strengthen us by the power of the Holy Ghost. Matt. 
26 : 41. Paul besought the Lord thrice that Satan's 
angel might depart from him. 2 Cor. 12 : 7, 8. 

2. The Lord sends help to His own through the Holy 
Ghost. Eph. 3:16. 

3. The effect of this help is shown in this, that we are 
not weakened by these assaults, but become stronger 
under them. 2 Thess. 3 : 3. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 441 



.This effect we see plainly in the disciples of the 
Lord after they had received the Holy Ghost. The 
men who a few weeks before were deserting the Lord 
and were fearful, became heroes, enduring ignominy 
and persecution, imprisonment and stripes, and it was 
afterwards said of them, Acts 5 : 41, "And they 
departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing 
that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His 
name." 

III. Conflict and Victory. 

1. The attacks of our enemies in this conflict and 
warfare are incessant, and, therefore, the manner of 
warfare appointed for us is that of resistance, i. e., we 
are not to allow ourselves to be led or driven by temp- 
tation and assault whither the evil one would lead us. 
Eph. 6 : 10, 11, 13. " Wherefore take unto you the 
whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand 
in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." 

a) Against the devil. James 4 : 7. 

b) Against the world. 1 John 2 : 15. 

c) Against our own flesh. Col. 3 : 5. 

2. Notwithstanding the promised and proffered help 
of God, there is many a discomfiture in this conflict if 
we do not use the help aright or are not sufficiently 
watchful. We must, therefore, always pray that " we 
may not be overcome in this spiritual warfare," and if 
we should at any time fall, that the Lord would gra- 
ciously lift us up again. The look of Jesus raised 
again fallen Peter when he had yielded to temptation 
and assault. Luke 22 : 61, 62. On the other hand, 
Judas after his fall went and hanged himself after the 
Lord's hand had been withdrawn from him. Matt. 
27: 5. 

3. The last conflict, which yet awaits not merely the 
individual Christian, but the entire Church of the 
Lord, is the great temptation, which through anti- 



442 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



Christ is to come upon all the world. Eev. 3 : 10, 
2 Thess. 2: 3, Matt. 24: 21, 22. 

4. " Until at last we obtain a complete victory." For 
this we pray, for this we struggle, and the Lord, the 
Prince of our salvation, will certainly grant it, because 
He has promised it. 

a) Over the evil one and over evil. Eom. 16 : 20, 
1 Thess. 5 : 23. 

b) Over death. Ps. 31 : 5. Compare Luke 23: 46. 

c) Over all evil. 2 Tim. 4 : 18. 

Question 128. 

How dost thou conclude thy prayer f 

" For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, 
forever ;" that is, all these we ask of thee, because thou art our 
King, and Almighty, art willing and able to give us all good ; and 
all this we pray for, that thereby not we, but thy holy name, may 
be glorified forever. 

1. Praise to God (a doxology) in this threefold form 
(kingdom, power, glory) we first find in 1 Chron. 29 : 
9-13, "and David, the king, also rejoiced with great 
joy. Wherefore David blessed the Lord before all the 
congregation, and David said : " Blessed be thou, Lord 
God of Israel, our Father, for ever and ever. Thine, 
O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, 
and the victory, and the majesty ; for all that is in the 
heaven and in the earth is thine ; thine is the king- 
dom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. 
Both riches and honor come of thee, and thou reignest 
over all ; and in thine hand is power and might, and 
in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength 
unto all. Now, therefore, our God, we thank thee, 
and praise Thy glorioilS name." 

2. The conclusion of the Lord's Prayer (" for . . . .") 
is the foundation upon which the entire prayer rests. 
For it embraces the grounds which encourage us to 
pray and prompt God to hear our prayer. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 443 



L God Will Hear Us. 

1. For He is our King and we are the subjects of His 
kingdom, for whom He will provide according to His 
grace all things necessary for bodv and soul. Ps. 
74: 12. 

2. Thine is the kingdom, that is : " Heavenly Father, 
we acknowledge Thee as the only Lord and King of 
heaven and earth ; Thou hast created all things, and 
governest all, for Thine honor, as well as for the 
furtherance of our salvation. Thou hast counted us 
worthy to be subjects here of Thy kingdom of grace, 
and yonder of eternal glory. Therefore we have 
childlike confidence in Thee, that Thou wilt provide, 
govern, sanctify, protect and preserve us, Thy sub- 
jects, in body and soul, until Thou wilt transplant us 
from Thy kingdom of grace to the Kingdom of Thy 
glory." 

II. God Can Hear Us. 

1. For He has power over all things. Therefore 
nothing is impossible to Him, and He can do all things 
that conduce to our welfare in body and soul, and no 
one can prevent Him from helping us when He has 
determined so to do. 2 Chron. 20 : 6, Rom. 10 : 12. 

2. Thine is the power, that is : " Heavenly Father, 
we acknowledge, honor and implore Thine endless 
power and might ; thou canst do beyond all that we 
pray and understand ; Thou canst control all things, 
and canst give us all good, and Thou only needst to 
speak a word, for when Thou speakest, it is done, 
when Thou commandest, it stands fast. Therefore we 
trust Thee that Thou wilt not deny us what serves 
Thine honor and our salvation." 

III. God Will Hear Us. 

1. For it redounds to His honor and glory that He 
manifest His grace and power in His kingdom and 



444 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



among His members by answering prayer. He will 
bear tbat not we, but His boly name may be praised. 
For He is true and bas promised His own tbat He will 
answer prayer. Ps. 115 : 1 ; 79 : 9, Isa. 37 : 20, John 
14: 13. 

2. Tbine is tbe glory, that is : " Heavenly Father, 
thou art the endlessly glorious, majestic and praise- 
worthy God, and, therefore, alone worthy and deserv- 
ing to be worshipped, praised and adored by us with 
deepest reverence. All that we pray for and desire, 
we desire alone to the praise of Thy glory. When 
Thou givest us grace to hallow Thy name, to further 
Thy kingdom, to do Thy will, when Thou givest us 
daily bread and forgivest us our debts and deliverest 
us from evil, it is all for Thine honor and glory. 
Therefore, because it is to the honor of Thy name that 
our requests be granted, hear us. And because our 
hearts testify that in all our prayers we look to Thine 
honor and glory, we have the confidence that Thou 
wilt certainly hear us." 

IV. God Always Hears Us. 

1. For He is God for ever and ever. 

a) The eternal God changes not, but in His faith- 
fulness He is immutable. Ps. 146 : 10. 

b) He is not limited as to time, and is ready with 
the answer before we ask. Isa. 65 : 24. 

c) Hereafter, when that which is perfect is come, we 
shall no longer pray to God. But prayer will not 
cease in eternity. Then it will be thanksgiving and 
praise and adoration. Rev. 5 : 13 ; 7 : 12. 

2. For ever, that is : " Heavenly Father, because 
Thy kingdom, power and glory will endure through 
unending eternity, and Thou art, therefore, also wor- 
shipped, adored and praised by us, grant what we 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 445 



ask of Thee here in time, and we shall praise and adore 
Thee in eternity." 

Question 129. 

What doth the word "Amen" signify f 

"Amen" signifies that it shall truly and certainly be ; for my 
prayer is more assuredly heard of God than I feel in my heart 
I desire these things of him. 

I. The Word Amen. 

"Amen" is a Hebrew word and means verily, cer- 
tainly, so let it be, let it be done. Thus also it is used 
in the New Testament, and serves to confirm a decla- 
ration, in the same manner as an oath. Sometimes it 
is repeated for greater emphasis : Amen, amen, i. e., 
verily, verily. 

a) God Himself uses it. Heb. 6 : 13, 14. 

b) Christ uses it often in His discourses, e.g., verily, 
verily, I say unto you. He Himself is also called, 
Rev. 3 : 14, Amen, the faithful and true witness. 

c) In the Old Testament it is used to express assent 
to the words of another and to confirm a vow. Deut. 
27 : 15-26, Ps. 106 : 48. 

d) It is used at the end of a prayer or of a blessing, 
a seal and expression, as it were, of faith in receiv- 
ing an answer. Ps. 72; 19, Pom. 16: 24. 

n. The Significance of the Word Amen for Us. 

1. In answer to our prayer God indeed often gives 
us the assurance through the testimony of the Holy 
Spirit that He will immediately hear us. We are not, 
however, to base our prayer upon our feelings and 
emotions, but it must always be and remain a matter 
of faith, which rests upon God's promise. And, there- 
fore, "Amen" at the close of the prayer signifies that I 
rest my assurance of being heard upon God, rather 
than upon the feelings of my heart. Isa. 65 : 24, 
1 John 5 : 14, 15, 2 Cor. 1 : 20. 



446 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



Eph. 3 : 20, 21 : " Now unto him that is able to do 
exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, 
according to the power that worketh in us, unto him 
be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all 
ages, world without end. Amen." 



THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 447 



I. 

THE HISTORY OF THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 

" Books also have their reverses and their history" 
(Habent sua fata libelli). Apart from the Bible there 
is no book whose history has been so checkered and yet 
so influential as that of the Heidelberg Catechism. 
Having been prepared under the direction and with 
the assistance of the foremost prince of the time of the 
Beformation, it attained the distinction of a general 
symbol for the whole Beformed Church. Its experi- 
ence, however, was akin to that of ancient Israel (Bsalm 
129) : " Many a time have they afflicted me from my 
youth, may Israel now say, many a time have they 
afflicted me from my youth, yet they have not pre- 
vailed against me." From its very beginning it encoun- 
tered opposition. It was seized by bailiffs and sup- 
pressed. It was burnt. Even in its home it was sup- 
planted through political federation and Church union. 
But against all this it stood as invincible as the con- 
fessors and martyrs of our Church, with whom it is 
justly compared. And it is continuing to maintain 
itself firm and invincible, its power undiminished and 
its glory undimmed, our fathers' shield and our defence. 
Its power is the power of the Word of God, for it is 
born of the Word. Its glory is derived from the light 
of the Spirit of God, which permeates it. Often 
stricken, but not destroyed ; reviled, and yet esteemed. 
So may it hold on and continue in its way. 



448 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



The name " Palatinate or Heidelberg Catechism" 
indicates its original home. The principal territory of 
the ancient Electoral Palatinate, with its capital city 
Heidelberg on the Neckar, lay on both sides of the 
Middle Rhine. It also included the Upper Palatinate 
with its capital city Am berg and numerous enclaves. 
To-day these provinces belong to Bavaria (the Rhine 
and the Upper Palatinate), to Baden, Hesse, Alsace and 
Prussia. It was not one of the German provinces in 
which the Reformation found a welcome in its very 
beginning. Only in the year 1545 did the Elector 
Frederick II. yield to the urgent demands of his sub- 
jects, but the work of the Reformation was carried for- 
ward indifferently. The situation improved when in 
1556 the Count-Palatine Otto Henry became Elector. 
At first he favored the Lutheran confession, but later 
he inclined toward the Reformed, so that he appointed 
Reformed theologians as professors in the University 
of Heidelberg and as pastors in Palatinate congrega- 
tions. At his death the majority of the preachers and 
people were more Reformed or " Zwinglian" than Lu- 
theran, so that, as the sequel showed, the course fol- 
lowed by his successor, Frederick III., did not involve 
a violent change, but only gave expression to what had 
previously been developed, and by extending it com- 
pleted the Reformation of the Palatinate. 

Frederick was born February 14, 1515, in the little 
town of Simmern on the Hunsrueck. His father was 
the Count-Palatine John II. of the Palatinate-Simmern, 
an intelligent and learned man, but a strict Catholic, 
who was very anxious to rear his twelve children, 
especially his oldest son Frederick, in his own faith. 
For this purpose he sent him to Bishop Eberhard of 
Liege, a zealous enemy of the Reformation, and after- 
wards to the court of the Emperor Charles V. But 
man proposes and God disposes. That time already 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 449 



Frederick had discovered that the Bible is the only 
source of truth and Christ our only Savior ; and after 
having married in 1537 Margravine Mary of Branden- 
burg-Bayreuth, who with all her heart believed in the 
Gospel, he soon identified himself openly and freely 
with the evangelical faith, prepared to risk everything 
for it. When he was to attach his signature to the 
Regensburg Interim (1541), with which it was pro- 
posed to suppress the Reformation, Frederick said to 
the Emperor : " Rather than do this, I will by God's 
help suffer anything ; and if I am not safe in this coun- 
try on account of my faith, I may be able to live at 
some other place with God." The care and support of 
a large family made him familiar with the way of the 
cross, but also with its blessings. His father, whom 
he with filial devotion had steadfastly sought to lead to 
the knowledge of the truth, died (1557) with the con- 
fession that his hope was fixed upon the merit of Christ 
alone and with fervent prayers to God, which Fred- 
erick in later years frequently recalled with a grateful 
heart. He now became Duke of Simmern, and at 
once introduced the Reformation in his province. 
But his work in Simmern, both as a ruler and a 
reformer, was only a training school for a greater work 
to which God had chosen him. 

In the year 1559 the Elector Otto Henry of the 
Palatinate died at Heidelberg, and the Count- 
Palatine of Simmern became his successor. At that 
time the Palatinate of the Rhine, the so-called 
Lower Palatinate, was in a state of excitement 
and confusion ; at Heidelberg in particular the two 
tendencies in the Church were arrayed against each 
other over the doctrine of the Lord's Supper. Thus 
the new Elector had to adjust and settle disputes in the 
very beginning. He did so with great wisdom and 
firmness. On the advice of Melanchthon, a native of 
the Palatinate, he directed that thereafter in the admin- 



450 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



istration of the Lord's Supper, St. Paul's words should 
be used : " The bread which we break, is the commun- 
ion of the body of Christ ; the cup of blessing which 
we bless, is the communion of the blood of Christ" 
(1 Cor. 10 : 16). He also instituted the Reformed 
order of worship, removed crucifixes, images, candles, 
altars and baptismal fonts from the churches, where 
this had not been done under Otto Henry. To take 
the place of these he introduced communion tables and 
baptismal bowls, and instead of the Latin Church 
hymns, which had previously been in use, he intro- 
duced the singing of the Psalms in German. It must be 
understood that a man like Frederick would not allow 
himself to be dictated to in his work of reformation by 
his theologians. He himself was a theologian and of 
ripe Christian experience. At the same time he was 
ready to receive advice, and the men who stood 
nearest to him and influenced him most were the 
theologians Olevianus and Ursinus, both young in 
years, but rich in gifts, in faith, and in learning. 

Casper Olevianus (i. e., of Olewig, the ancestral seat 
of the family), Doctor of Theology, was born at Treves 
on the 10th of August in the year 1536. His father 
was a baker, a trades official, and a city councillor, a 
respected and wealthy citizen. In his fourteenth year 
young Olevianus went to France to study jurisprudence 
in the celebrated law-schools of Paris, Orleans and 
Bourges. There he attached himself to the persecuted 
Reformed congregations, having been already awakened 
at home. It was at this time that a most thrilling 
event occurred, which led him to give himself fully to 
God and to consecrate himself to His service. At 
Bourges a son of Frederick, who subsequently became 
his sovereign, was drowned before his very eyes in the 
Auron river. Olevianus rushed to his assistance in 
vain and brought his own life into imminent perih 



THE HEIDELBEKG CATECHISM. 451 



Out of the depth he cried unto the Lord and promised 
that if the Lord would preserve his life, he would 
devote it entirely to the service of the Divine Word. 
In a marvellous manner he was rescued from a watery 
grave. He now began to study the Bible and Calvin's 
works most earnestly. Then he went to Geneva, Lau- 
sanne and Zurich. In his twenty-third year he 
returned to his native town, full of enthusiasm for his 
work, and there accepted the position of Professor of 
the Latin language. But he did not forget his vow, 
and soon began to preach in his school-room to many 
hearers. When forbidden to preach there, he obtained 
the consent of the council and citizens to use the pul- 
pit of St. James' church, and there continued his 
preaching. Most of the citizens were won for the 
Reformation, and a large evangelical church was organ- 
ized, so that the Elector Frederick and Duke Wolf- 
gang of Palatinate-Zweibruecken sent Superintendent 
Flinsbach to Olevianus' assistance. But his joy was of 
brief duration. In 1560 the archbishop of Treves 
invaded his city with an army of mercenaries, and cast 
Olevianus into prison and expelled the citizens who 
refused to give up their evangelical faith. While still 
in prison, Olevianus was called to Heidelberg by the 
Elector as court-preacher, and at the Elector's request 
he was released at the end of ten weeks. In his new 
position he enjoyed the fullest confidence of his sov- 
ereign. 

Zacharias Ursinus (originally „ s £ai", i. e., Bear),. 
Doctor of Theology, was born July 18, 1534, at Bres- 
lau, where his father was a clergyman. From his 
youth he was distinguished for excellent intellectual 
talents, a spiritual temper and great industry. In his 
sixteenth year he entered the University of Witten- 
berg, where he formed a special attachment for Me- 
lanchthon, who in return opened his heart to his pupih 



452 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



In order to complete his classical education, Ursinus 
frequented (1557) the celebrated universities of Switz- 
erland and France, where he became more fully 
acquainted with Calvin, Beza, Bullinger, and Peter 
Martyr, whose teaching he accepted most ardently, 
without separating himself from Melanchthon, the 
friend of Calvin. Ursinus prosecuted his studies most 
profoundly. In order to reach a settled conviction 
concerning the Reformed doctrine of predestination, he 
read the Bible from beginning to end, and finding this 
doctrine clearly and positively revealed in the Word 
of God, he, as well as Olevianus, adhered to it firmly 
as long as he lived. On his return to his home he was 
appointed Professor of Theology in his native town. 
But, as there was opposition to him on account of his 
Calvinism, he voluntarily resigned. When asked by 
his uncle whither he would now go, he cheerfully 
and confidently wrote : " I am content to leave my 
native land when it will not allow one to confess the 
truth, which I cannot with a good conscience renounce. 
Since my beloved teacher Philip (Melanchthon) is dead, 
I shall turn to the theologians of Zurich, whose reputa- 
tion, however small it may be here, is so great in other 
churches that it cannot be obscured by our preachers. 
They are pious, learned, and distinguished men, in 
whose society I have resolved to spend my life. As 
for the rest, God will provide." In this way Ursinus 
was led to go to Zurich (1560), whence, upon the rec- 
ommendation of Peter Martyr, he was called by Fred- 
erick III. to Heidelberg as Professor (1562). Of the 
certainty of his faith and of his personal salvation he 
speaks as follows in a private letter : 

" If you mean that we cannot say with certainty that one 
will be saved, you are right when speaking of others ; but with 
regard to oneself, or one's own conscience aud convictions con- 
cerning oneself, such a conception is both shocking and bias- 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



453 



phenious, and subverts the very foundation of faith. Whoever 
has taught you such an idea, has instructed you as would a 
devil, even though he came from heaven. I will say even 
more ; if you are not certain in this world that you are an heir 
of eternal life, you will not be one after death. From such a 
fate the Lord deliver you. For faith itself is that certainty 
which is the beginning of eternal life, which beginuing every 
one must possess in this life who would have it hereafter. If 
you would remember the meaning of the word hope, that it is 
a certain expectation of eternal life, you would not write to me 
what causes my hair to stand on end. I would not accept a 
hundred thousand worlds and be so far away from my Lord as 
not to know certainly whether I am His or not." 

These were Frederick's co-laborers in completing 
the Reformation in the Palatinate countries. The 
three were thoroughly grounded in Christ Jesus and 
labored together in rare unanimity of spirit. The 
greatest service they rendered not only to the Palati- 
nate, but also to the entire Reformed Church, was the 
production of their catechism. The Elector found dif- 
ferent manuals of instruction in his schools, and to 
unify the instruction he wanted a book whose creed 
was decidedly Reformed, suitable both for the common 
and the higher schools. This labor he committed to 
Olevianus and Ursinus, but he himself took an active 
part in it, and nothing was incorporated in it, even as 
to expression, of which he did not approve,* so that he 

* See passage in a memorial of the elector by Koecher, Cate- 
chetical History of the Reformed Church, Jena 1756, p. 242. 

In a defence written by himself (dated Amberg, Dec. 1, 1566), 
the elector declared in answer to the false report that Bulliager of 
Zurich had prepared the catechism for him : " The report that I have 
had my catechism and Directory of Worship prepared in Zurich by 
Bullinger and his associates, is an open and barefaced lie, and it can 
be demonstrated by my own handwriting that after I had received 
the catechism from my theologians and had examined it, I improved 
it in different places." See Kluckhohn, Letters of Frederick the 
Pious of the Palatinate, Munich, 1868, vol. I, p. 726. 



454 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



could say of the book, " ray catechism." After the two 
divines had prepared outlines, the catechism soon 
assumed the form in which we have it to this day, and 
when we consider the shortness of the time and the 
excellence of the work, it is evident that God's blessing 
was resting in an extraordinary manner upon the 
authors. In January, 1563, the Elector submitted for 
approval, at his own residence, the completed work to 
an assembly composed of all the superintendents, pro- 
fessors and preachers of Heidelberg, by whom the book 
was unanimously accepted and approved, as well as the 
Directory of Worship submitted to them* 

* The institution of superintendents originated in the time of 
Otto Henry. According to a letter of Frederick to his son-in-law, 
John Frederick of Saxony (dated Amberg, March 30, 1563), this 
gathering was not of the nature of a " special Synod," but a regu- 
lar assembly. " It is not without good reason that I have called 
together all my superintendents, foremost Church officers (ministers) 
and theologians (since it is in accordance with established order 
that they meet once or twice a year to report to me whatever 
irregularities may exist anywhere in churches and schools, that the 
same may be corrected), who agreed upon a uniform catechism, 
which is adapted to the youth, as well as to the Church officers 
(ministers) themselves, since I have found in my electorate a great 
lack of uniformity and many irregularities in the catechetical work, 
and in many places no catechism at all." See Kluckhohn, Letters, 
vol. I, p. 390. 

In the library at Weimar there is a pamphlet, printed in the 
year 1563, in which is found the following notice from a Lutheran 
source : " Palatinate Directory of Worship, adopted in January. 
Points discussed at Heidelberg eight days in succession. All 
superintendents summoned, and special lodgings provided for them. 
A new catechism is submitted to their inspection, in which are found 
a new enumeration of the Ten Commandments and the chief doc- 
trines, arranged in a new order, as well as new explanations .... 
All the superintendents of the electorate and all the ministers at 
the court and in the city of Heidelberg have received, adopted and 
subscribed to this catechism. And to farther confirm the same, 
they partook of the Lord's Supper Sunday, January 17, with the 
lord consessors (members of the consistory?). On January 18 the 
elector summoned them to the court, and addressed them thus : ' I 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 455 



The catechism was speedily printed and published 
under the title: "Catechism, or Instruction in Chris- 
tian Doctrine, as it is conducted by the churches and 
schools of the Electoral Palatinate. (Then followed 
the Electoral coat of arms in three fields : the Palati- 
nate lion, the Bavarian quadrangles, and the Imperial 
globe — because in case of necessity the Elector of the 
Palatinate vyas regent of the empire). Printed in the 
Electoral city of Heidelberg, by John Mayer, 1563." 
The edict of the Elector, prefixed to the catechism, 
which was evidently written by himself in the official 
style of that time, is as follows : 

"I, Frederick, by the grace of God Count-palatine of the 
Rhine, Lord-high-steward and Elector of the Holy Roman 
Empire, Duke of Bavaria, etc., extend grace and greeting to all 
superintendents, ministers, preachers, church and school officers 
of the electorate of the Rhine Palatinate, and hereby would 
have you know, to wit : 

" Being mindful of God's Word, and feeling bound by natu- 
ral duty and kinship, I have at last undertaken to carry on my 
divinely entrusted office, calling and government not only for 

have learned from the lord concessors that you have come to a 
unanimous conclusion which is highly gratifying. I desire that you 
should now in all faithfulness act accordingly. But I observe from 
the minutes submitted to me that the superintendent of Ingelheim 
was the only one who was not willing to attach his signature. I 
shall consult with him, and he will no d mbt see what is reason- 
able.' " See Niedner's Journal of Historical Theology, 1846, p. 494, 
and my Evangelical-Reformed church paper, 1868, p. 150. 

According to this record, the discussions of the assembly on the 
catechism and the Directory of Worship continued eight days, and 
on the last day, January 16, 1563, all the members, with but one 
exception, subscribed to it. On Sunday, January 17, they all par- 
took of the communion with the congregation, at which perhaps 
for the first time the bread was broken ; and on January 18 the 
elector solemnly dismissed them, after expressing to them his satis- 
faction with the result of their deliberations, and exhorting them to 
devote themselves zealously to the introduction of the catechism. 
The elector's order for the introduction of the catechism is, there- 
fore, dated " Tuesday, January 19th." 



456 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



preserving peace and quiet, and maintaining a pure, sincere and 
virtuous life and conduct among my subjects, but also and par- 
ticularly for instructing them in and bringing them to the true 
knowledge and fear of the Almighty and His saving Word as 
the only foundation of all virtue and obedience, and for advanc- 
ing with all diligence from a pure heart their eternal and tem- 
poral interests, and as far as it is in my power to help maintain 
them in the same. 

"And as I learned in the very beginning of my administra- 
tion, although my dear cousins and forefathers, the Count- 
palatines, Electors, etc.,* of noble and blessed memory, had 
instituted and undertaken different Christian and useful ordi- 
nances and regulations for the furtherance of God's honour and 
the maintenance of civil discipline and order ; 

" That they were not carried out as earnestly as they ought 
to have been, and that they did not yield the fruit that was 
hoped for and desired, this induced me not only to renew the 
same, but also, wherever necessity required it, to improve them 
and exemplify them, and to make further provisions. I also 
found no little deficiency in this respect, that the promising 
young people everywhere, both in the schools and the churches 
of my electorate, were carelessly instructed in Christian doc- 
trine, and in places not at all, everywhere unequally and 
nowhere in a binding, authoritative and uniform catechism, but 
according to each one's own ideas and plans. From this state 
of things, besides other grave and numerous evils, it came to 
pass that they were often brought up without the fear of God 
and the knowledge of His Word, and without being uni- 
formly instructed, or else they were burdened with irrele- 
vant and unnecessary questions, sometimes even with false doc- 
trine. 

" Now if both Christian and secular offices, power and 
households cannot be maintained, and order, respectability and 
all estimable virtues cannot be developed and promoted in sub- 
jects without first and foremost instructing and training the 
youth in the pure and uniform doctrine of the holy Gospel and 
the true knowledge of God and continually exercising them 
therein ; 

" I have deemed it of the highest necessity and as the chief 
duty of my administration to institute proper regulations, to 



* Frederick II. and Otto Henry. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 457 



correct the lack of uniformity and other abuses, and to bring 
about necessary reforms. 

"To this end, with the advice and consent of my whole 
theological faculty, and all the superintendents and most 
prominent ministers, I have ordered a summary of instruction, 
or Catechism of our Christian Religion, to be compiled from 
the Word of God, both in the German and Latin languages. 
In this way hereafter not only the youth in the churches and 
the schools will be piously instructed in these Christian doc- 
trines, but also preachers and teachers themselves will have a 
certain and authoritative form and rule according to which 
they may instruct the youth, without continually making 
changes according to their own fancy or introducing new doc- 
trines. 

" I, herewith, earnestly and graciously admonish and com- 
mand each and all of you thankfully to accept this catechism or 
book of instruction to the honour of God, and to the profit and 
advantage of my subjects and your own souls, and to use it 
diligently according to its true sense for the instruction of the 
youth in the schools and churches, and of the people from the 
pulpit, — to teach, to act and to live according to the same. And 
I firmly hope and trust that when the youth are thus earnestly 
instructed and trained in the Word of God, Gocl may grant 
reformation in life, temporal and eternal prosperity. That this 
be done as suggested, we look with confidence to you. 

" Issued at Heidelberg, Tuesday, January 19, in the year 
fifteen hundred and sixty- three after the birth of Christ, our 
dear Lord and Savior." 

The Palatinate Directory of Worship, also issued in 
1563, contains the following statement : 

" In our Christian religion the term ' Catechism' means 
brief and simple oral instruction concerning the chief points of 
Christian doctrine, in which the young and unlearned are 
required to repeat what they have learned. It has been the 
custom of pious parents since the beginning of the Christian 
Church to have their children instructed in the fear of the 
Lord at home, in the school, and at church, doubtless for the 
following reasons, which certainly ought to induce us to do the 
same. In the first place they wisely concluded that the natu- 
ral depravity of man would gain the ascendency, and would 

36 



458 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



corrupt both Church and state, unless counteracted in time by 
wholesome instruction. In the second place they were prompted 
by God's express command, Exod. 12 : 13, Deuteronomy, chap- 
ters 4, 6 and 11, in which God says (Deut. 6:6, 7) : 'These 
words (the Ten Commandments), which I command thee this 
day, shall be in thine heart : And thou shalt teach them dili- 
gently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou 
sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and 
when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.' In the next 
place, as the children of the Israelites, who had been circum- 
cised, were instructed when they came to years of discretion 
concerning the significance of the rite and in the covenant of 
God, so our children who have been baptized are to be instructed 
in true Christian faith and repentance, that they may confess 
their faith in the presence of the entire Christian congregation 
before they are admitted to the table of the Lord." 

In the first editions of the catechism the questions 
were not numbered and divided into Lord's Days, and 
the Scripture proofs in the margin were cited only by 
chapter. In subsequent editions an appendix was 
added containing the following : 1) A " Table of Fam- 
ily Duties," with the heading, " Scripture passages, 
from which every one may learn the duties appropriate 
to his station in life ;" 2) Morning, evening and table 
prayers; 3) Prayers for the Lord's Day and forms for 
baptism, the Lord's Supper and marriage, taken from 
the Directory of Worship ; 4) The " Questions which 
were to be asked the youth when for the first time they 
presented themselves at the Lord's Table," viz., ques- 
tions 60, 21, 65-69, 71, 75-79, 81, 82. Concerning 
the Scripture passages, which were afterwards printed 
underneath the text of the questions, it was said in a 
prefatory note : " The Scripture proofs by which the 
faith of the children is confirmed, are such only as 
have been selected with great pains from the divinely 
inspired Scriptures (usually called canonical books) 
and have been added to each question and answer." 
In the first editions one of the proofs from the Apoc- 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 459 



rypha had crept in (Sir. 3 : 27, under Question 105), 
which soon disappeared." 

Question 80, concerning the Roman mass, has a his- 
tory of its own. It can be proved that three editions 
of the catechism appeared in the first year of its publi- 
cation* (1563). In the first the question did not 
appear. In the second, which soon followed, the ques- 
tion occupies its present place, closing with the follow- 
ing statement : " So the mass at bottom is nothing else 
than an idolatrous denial of the one sacrifice and suf- 
ferings of Jesus Christ." The statement immediately 
follows the words, "offered by the priests." The fol- 
lowing note appears on the last page of the book : " To 
the Christian reader. Omissions in the first edition — 
see especially folio 55 (the place where the new ques- 
tion appears) — are now supplied at the command of 
his grace, the elector.f 1563." In the third edition 
the closing statement of the question received its pres- 
ent form (after the words, " offered by the priests"), 
" and further, that Christ is bodily under the form of 
bread and wine, and, therefore, is to be worshiped in 
them ; so that the mass at bottom is nothing else than 
a denial of the one sacrifice and sufferings of Jesus 

* W olters, The Heidelberg Catechism in its original form, Bonn, 
1864, contains an exact reprint of *he first edition, of which only a 
single copy is extant. 

f In a letter to Calvin, Olevianus says, " I send you, most worthy 
father, a copy of the Latin edition of the catechism. Ia the first 
German edition, a copy of which was sent to Schrimger (no doubt 
a native of the Palatinate, who was sojourning in Geneva), the 
question concerning the difference between the Lord's Supper and 
the Popish mass was omitted. At my suggestion the Prince directed 
that in the second German and the first Latin editions it should be 
inserted {Admonitus a me princeps voluit . . . addi). I trust it may be 
of service to our German people." 

The letter is dated April 3, 1563, and appears in Baum's edition 
of Calvin's works, Cunitz and Reusz, Brunswick, 1878, vol. 19, p. 
683. 



460 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



Christ, and an accursed idolatry." In this form Ques- 
tion 80 was incorporated in the Palatinate Directory of 
Worship, and is a part of the catechism as a confession 
of faith. The elector was no doubt incited to such 
sharp polemics by the decisions and anathemas of the 
Romish Council of Trent, which in the meantime had 
been published and brought to his notice. 

At the same time that the second German edition 
was published, a Latin translation of the catechism 
appeared, prepared by the minister Joshua Lagus and 
the schoolmaster Lambert Pithopoeus for the use of 
the higher schools and gymnasia. It was used also for 
a long time as a compendium in connection with the 
lectures on dogmatics in the Reformed universities. 
Ursinus himself gave a series of lectures on it in the 
Latin language, out of which grew his larger catecheti- 
cal work, " Explicationes catecheticae," explanations 
of the catechism.* 

In the Lower Palatinate (of the Rhine) the new 
book of instruction was everywhere received with joy. 
In the Upper Palatinate, however, notwithstanding the 
fact that the book was printed several times at Am- 
berg, its introduction was stubbornly resisted at the 
instigation of the Lutheran ministers, who were sup- 
ported in this matter by the governor, the crown- 
prince Louis. The elector was not willing to coerce 
them, and in person, as well as through his best min- 
isters, sought repeatedly, though in vain, to win over 
the people of Amberg. It was the same Upper Palati- 
nate, which only a generation later allowed itself to be 
turned by the Jesuits to Catholicism. 

No sooner was the Heidelberg Catechism published, 
than it was fiercely assailed by Frederick's Lutheran 

* This work appeared for the first time in the collected writings 
of Ursinus in 1584, which were published by Quirinus Reuter. In 
1598 a special edition was issued by Pareus, which was enlarged 
from manuscripts left by Ursinus. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



461 



fellow-princes, who were his neighbors and in other 
respects his closest friends, Duke Wolfgang of Zwei- 
bruecken, Duke Christopher of Wurtemberg and Mar- 
grave Charles of Baden. His own son-in-law, Duke 
John Frederick, the intermediate, of Saxony, often 
attacked it in a most unbecoming manner ; so also the 
most celebrated Lutheran theologians in the empire. 
Against the former the elector himself led the defence, 
the latter he handed over to Ursinus, after he had had 
Bui linger, of Zurich, to prepare for him a written 
defence against them. This suggested to his adversar- 
ies the suspicion that the latter was also the author of 
the catechism. 

Frederick sent the following reply, dated Sept. 14, 
1563, to the princes who opposed him : 

" My beloved, believe me in all kindness that I do not 
doubt that your remonstrance against the catechism was 
prompted by good and friendly motives and the best of inten- 
tions. In this sense it is understood and received. And you 
may be assured, my beloved, that I am heartily thankful to 
everyone, even the least, from whom I learn anything out of 
God's Word that would improve my sinful life and increase 
my knowledge of God's Word, and that might at the same 
time promote my own salvation and that of my subjects, which 
I have more at heart than even their temporal prosperity. I 
clearly recognize that all of us, as long as we live, are not 
lords, but only disciples in the school of Christ ; also that we 
are human and liable to err, and, therefore, stand in constant 
need of instruction and edification. On the other hand I have 
at the same time learned so much, both from the divine Word 
and through long experience (God Almighty having awakened 
me since my entra ce upon my electoral reign by numerous 
adversities, as well as by restless spirits, selfish and ambitious 
theologians, all of which nevertheless have proved to be fatherly 
visitations, and have been for my good), not to allow myself to 
be carried away by every wind of heretical doctrine, nor to be 
diverted from the truth which I have accepted and confessed, 
but my immovable foundation and firm ground has always 
been, and still remains upon this : i This is my beloved Son : 



462 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



hear Him.' To this as a pure aud infallible standard I would 
cheerfully conform my whole life and the government entrusted 
to me by the grace of God ; in this I would persevere, at the 
same time avoiding and removing everything possible that is 
contrary to it, and yet fulfilling my duties as they meet me .... 
And likewise it has frequently happened since the beginning of 
the world, and even to the present time, that those who have 
been Christlike in character and earnest in the discharge of the 
duties of religion, and have openly confessed the same, have 
been slandered and persecuted more than others. And I am 
not the first one that has fallen into such evil rep te, for many 
others have suffered, more recent examples of which may readily 
be recalled, and yet the truth has always stood firm ... . And 
my catechism is not based upon the doctrines of men, but only 
and alone upon the Word of God, as is clearly proved by the 
marginal references to Scripture. And since the* Scriptural 
foundations upon which my catechism is built remain firm and 
unshaken, I cannot see that such a catechism contains false or 
pernicious doctrine, on account of which it should be con- 
demned, unless one is prepared at the same time to reject and 
condemn the Word of God itself."* 

Frederick was visited at Heidelberg by different 
friendly princes, who sought to induce him to with- 
draw his catechism, and to recede from the changes 
which he had introduced into the churches. Against 
all these influences he stood immovable. The dukes 
Wolfgang and Christopher sent an embassy to him 
proposing a conference, a colloquy, with their theolo- 
gians. They reported the following answer of the elec- 
tor to their sovereigns : 

" In answer to the proposal of a colloquy I would say that 
it is known and manifest to all what such colloquies have 
accomplished among our own people, as well as among our 
opponents. Your grace, the elector, would not be averse to 
discussing these matters familiarly and fraternally with his 
dear friends and cousins (the princes), but he will have nothing 
to do with the restless theologians."! 



* Kluckhohn, Letters, vol. I., p. 439. f The same, vol. L, p. 466. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 463 



His son-in-law, Duke John Frederick of Saxony, 
opposed the elector most vehemently. To him he 
wrote, March 30, 1563 : 

" You have been unnecessarily anxious, as if I were in dan- 
ger of being deceived by the devil's instruments ; but thank 
God, I have attained to such an age, and to such knowledge 
and understanding of the divine Word that I am not moved 
about by every wind of doctrine. I would also most heartily 
wish that all others, setting aside their own feelings and 'the 
views of men, might be governed and led by God's Word 
alone. In other respects I acknowledge before God, as is 
proper, that I am a poor sinner, and I pray daily for the for- 
giveness of my sins, and that by the power of the Holy Ghost 
I may grow more and more in the knowledge of His dear Son, 
my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. Aruen."* 

In a letter dated August 21, 1563, Frederick thanks 
his son-in-law for different writings he had received, 
saying that he accepted them as having been sent in a 
christian, friendly spirit and with good intentions. 

" I would, therefore, thank my beloved, and I hope to God 
that I have not given you any occasion for assaulting me, nor 
would I willingly do it now. But I know better than that I 
am in the grasp of the devil, and that you need to devote your- 
self to my rescue. For I belong in body and soul, both in 
life and death, to my dear and faithful Savior, Jesus Christ, 
and it has cost Him too much to make me His own, to deliver 
me to the power of the devil, seeing that I have been pur- 
chased by His own precious blood. I also assuredly know and 
believe that the devil, with all his arts and cunning, cannot 
injure me nor rob me of a single hair on my head without the 
will of my heavenly Father. f But I hope to God that my 
beloved understands the truth better than appears from his 
conduct toward me. Should, however, my hope be vain, I 
shall the more diligently pray to my dear and faithful God, 
and shall not doubt that by the aid of His good and Holy Spirit 
His omnipotence may yet open the eyes of your understanding, 
so that you may come to a right knowledge of the truth. "f f 



* Kluckhohn, Letters, vol. L, p. 391. 

f See Question 1 of the catechism. 

ff Kluckhohn, Letters, vol. I., p. 440. 



464 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



Frederick endured the invectives of the young man, 
his son-in-law, with the greatest patience and meek- 
ness. When he, however, became so base, after having 
alienated the affections of his wife from her father, that 
he sought by correspondence to incite the Electress Mary 
against her husband on account of the catechism, bring- 
ing upon her an attack of sickness, Frederick addressed 
him in a different tone. In a letter written July 7, 
1563, he said : 

" I desire that you, my beloved, cease from troubling and 
grieving and seeking to reform my affectionate and dearly 
beloved wife. I have given you my daughter for your wife. 
With her you have the right and power to undertake a work 
of reformation. I have given her to you and instructed her 
when she took her departure from me that she should render 
to you the Christian obedience due you. If she does not do it, 
you must speak to her about it. But you, my beloved, must 
not interfere with my wife nor my children (with the exception 
of your wife)."* 

The severest opposition to the elector and his cate- 
chism was yet to come. The emperor, Maximilian II., 
issued a call for a Diet at Augsburg in 1566, at which 
war against the Turks was to be discussed. Thereupon 
several Lutheran princes, incited by their theologians, 
agreed, on account of his " innovation," to bring charges 
against the elector before the emperor and the Diet, ac- 
cusing him of departure from the Augsburg Confession, 
and that he should, therefore, be excluded from the Re- 
ligious Peace. It was rumored that it might even cost 
him his electorate, if not his life. With brotherly 
anxiety he was warned in two letters by his brother, 
Count-palatine Richard of Simmern, not to go to Augs- 
burg. Among other things he said to his dearly-be- 
loved brother : 

" I find consolation in the hope that the Almighty power of 
my dear and faithful Heavenly Father will use me as an instru- 



*Kluckhohn, Letters, vol. L, p. 416. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



465 



merit for the confession of His name in these latter days in the 
holy empire of the German nation,* not only by word of 
mouth, but also by act, as was done gome time ago by my 
dear brother-in-law, Duke John Frederick of Saxony, elector 
of blessed memory.f And although I do not have the pre- 
sumption to compare myself with the said elector of blessed 
memory, I know on the other hand that the same God who 
kept him in the true knowledge of the holy Gospel is still liv- 
ing, and is well able to preserve me, a poor, simple man, and, 
by the power of the Holy Ghost, will certainly do it, even if it 
should come to this that blood must be spilt. And should it 
please my God and Father in heaven thus to honor me, I 
should never be able to thank Him sufficiently for it, either in 
time or in eternity. " 

In this heroic faith Frederick went to Augsburg. 
There his princely opponents were stirred up by their 
theologians, while the Bishops of Worms and Speyer and 
the papal nuncio sought to influence the emperor. Fred- 
erick stood alone, but the Lord was with him. Upon 
the accusation of Duke Wolfgang of Zweibruecken and 
Christopher of Wurtemburg, his " good friends and true 
neighbors," the emperor ordered him to appear before 
the assembly, May 14, demanding of him that he set 
aside all the changes he had introduced into the 
churches, as well as the catechism, in order to prevent 
his being proceeded against with the utmost severity. 
Frederick retired from the assembly in order to prepare 
a defence, but soon appeared again followed by his son, 
John Casimir, who as his " spiritual armour-bearer" 
carried after him the Bible. Not long after the Diet he 
wrote out the entire proceedings and his own defence, 
in which, among other things, he said : 

* It is worthy of note that here Frederick does not designate 
the empire by the official title of the Holy Roman Empire of the 
German nation. 

f The elector having been conquered and taken prisoner in the 
Smalcald war at the battle of Muhlberg, 1547, by the emperor 
Charles V., was declared to have forfeited his land, and was held as 
a prisoner for five years after he had first been sentenced to death. 



466 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



" With reference to matters of religion which I am called 
upon to change and to set aside, I announce that in the sphere 
of faith and conscience I kn w but one Lord, who is the Lord 
of lords and King of kings ; and, therefore, I say that this 
question does not pertain to ' a cap full ot flesh' {i. e., his head), 
but to the soul and its salvation, which has been committed to 
me by my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and which I am in 
duty bound and prepared to preserve for Him. Therefore I 
cannot concede to your Imperial Majesty the right of authority 
over it, a right which belongs to God alone, who is its creator. 
As far as • y catechism is concerned, I am committed to it. It 
is fortified in the margin by proof-texts from the holy Scrip- 
tures to such an extent that it must stand immovable, and it is 
my hope that by the help of God it may continue so to stand. 
As for the rest, I comfort myself with the thought that my 
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has given me, together with all 
who believe on Him, the assured promise that everything 
which I shall lose for the sake of His honor or name, shall be 
restored to me in the world beyond a hundred-fold. With this 
I most humbly commend myself to the grace of your Imperial 
Majesty." 

During his address all eyes were turned upon the 
elector. According to an old tradition, when he had 
finished his speech, the Elector Augustus of Saxony 
approached him, and putting his hand upon his shoul- 
der, said to him : " Frederick, thou art more pious than 
all of us." So also at the close of the session the Mar- 
grave Charles of Baden said to those standing around 
him, " Why do you persecute this prince? He has more 
piety than the whole of us !" And history has given 
Frederick the surname of " the Pious." The emperor, 
however, was not at all satisfied with Frederick's 
defence. He afterwards stated in the presence of the 
princes, " this pest must be destroyed." Boquinus 
rightly said of the elector at a later date in his Latin 
funeral oration : " If martyrdom consists in the right- 
eousness of the cause, the temper of soul with which it 
is endured, and joyous resignation, to suffering, then, 
we may count this splendid elector among the martyrs 
of Christ." 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



467 



Frederick left the Diet before it closed. He arrived 
at Heidelberg on Friday before Whitsunday, and the 
people received him with the greater joy, because it had 
been rumored that he had been deposed at Augsburg, 
yea even beheaded. On the following day he attended 
preparatory service in the church of the Holy Ghost, 
and in the presence of all the people extended his 
right hand to his court-preacher, Olevianus, exhorting 
him to remain steadfast. On Sunday he and his fam- 
ily publicly partook of the Lord's Supper with the 
congregation. 

Frederick III. was a prince by the grace of God, 
like whom there were but few, of eminent good sense, 
firm faith, dispassionate judgment, sincere piety, 
beloved by his people, and of blessed memory to this 
day. After God had preserved him many years to be 
a blessing to men, the hour approached for which he 
had been preparing himself all his lifetime. Earlier 
in life he suffered from gout, in his later years he was 
afflicted with dropsy and suffered much pain. But the 
" only comfort," which sustained him earlier in con- 
flict, now also supported him in suffering — " in life and 
death." On his deathbed he said to those standing 
around him : 

" I have lived long enough, both for you and the Church. 
Now I shall be called to a better life. I have done for the 
Church the best I possibly could, but have not accomplished a 
great deal. God who can do all things and who cared for His 
servants before my day, still lives and reigns in heaven. He 
will not leave you orphans, nor will He leave without fruit the 
prayers and tears which I have brought to Him on my knees 
in this room for my successors and for the Church/' 

Then he said to his court-preacher, Olevianus : " The 
Lord may call me whenever it pleases Him. I have a 
clear conscience in Christ Jesus my Lord, whom I 
have served with all my heart, and I have lived to see 
that in my churches and schools the people are directed 



468 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



away from men to Him alone." He also said : " I 
have been detained long enough by the prayers of 
pious Christians. It is time that my earthly life 
should close, and that I should go to my Savior into 
heavenly rest." After he had directed that Psalm 31 
and John 17 should be read to him, and he himself 
had prayed aloud, he gently fell asleep, assured of his 
salvation, at the age of 61 years, on October 26, 1576. 
Upon his tombstone was inscribed his motto : " Lord, 
as Thou wilt." In his will also, which was published* 
by John Casimir in 1577, Frederick made express 
mention of his catechism in the following words : 

" I especially acknowledge allegiance to my published cate- 
chism and Directory of Worship, in which all the chief points 
of the Christian faith are explicitly and clearly set forth in 
order, and many of them explained in detail." 

As decisively as Frederick III. was devoted to the 
Reformed confession, his eldest son and successor, Louis 
VI., held to Lutheranism. But he lacked very much 
of having his father's spirit. As soon as he had come 
to Heidelberg from Amberg, where he had resided as 
governor of the Upper Palatinate, while his father's 
body yet remained unburied, he asserted himself most 
harshly by not allowing his father's faithful ministers 
to speak a word at the funeral, insisting that the Luth- 
eran court-preachers, whom he had brought with him, 
should officiate. Anxious apprehension seized the 
people of the Palatinate, of whose very flesh and blood 
Reformed doctrine and practice had become a part. 
Petitions and representations of every kind, even those 
of his brother, John Casimir, as well as the entreaties 
and admonitions which his father had given to his 
successor in his last will were of no avail with the new 
elector. He suppressed the Heidelberg Catechism, 



* Struve, Palatiuate Church History, Frankfort on the Main, 
1721, p. 275, etc. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



469 



drove out six hundred Reformed ministers and school- 
masters, whom the Swiss received most kindly, and 
introduced Lutheranism into the entire Palatinate. 
Under such circumstances Count-Palatine John Casi- 
mir could no longer remain in Heidelberg. He 
removed to Neustadt on the Haardt, having received 
Neustadt, Kaiserslautern and Boeckelheim (with Fran- 
kenthal) as an inheritance from his father. In this 
territory, through his influence, the Heidelberg Cate- 
chism was retained. The title under which the book 
was now printed was, " Catechism, or Instruction in 
Christian Doctrine, as Conducted in the Churches and 
Schools of the Former Electoral, now Princely Pala- 
tinate." 

Louis was especially bitter against both of his 
father's spiritual advisers, Olevianus and Ursinus, and 
they were made to suffer his utmost displeasure. 

After his dismissal Ursinus was appointed a profes- 
sor in the new Reformed university which had been 
established at Neustadt on the Haardt as a substitute 
for the University of Heidelberg. Just as he had 
stood by the father in the defence of the catechism, so 
now he served the son. Several of his admirable 
defences were published with the catechism after 1592. 
These were : 1) " Reply to the criticisms of several 
theologians in reference to the marginal Scripture 
proofs of the Heidelberg Catechism. 1564." 2) "An- 
swer and ' counter-questions' to six questions concern- 
ing the Lord's Supper. 1564." 3) "Articles in which 
the evangelical churches agree or differ in relation to 
the Lord's Supper. 1566." 4) " Vindication of the 
catechism of Christian doctrine, published at Heidel- 
berg in the year 1563, against the unfounded charges 
and misrepresentations with which it has been assailed 
by different persons. In addition, Dr. Martin Luther's 
interpretation of the breaking of the bread in the 



470 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



Lord's Sapper. 1564." la this treatise there are 
printed on the face and on the back of the title-page 
two passages from Tertullian as a motto : " None but 
a wicked heart is offended at the good ;" and, " Neither 
time, nor human authority, nor custom, nor anything 
else can deprive truth of its right." The conclusion of 
the preface is as follows : 

" For ourselves we find sufficient comfort first aud foremost 
in our own consciences which appeal with joy and confidence 
from the accusations of our opponents to the just tribunal of 
Christ; in the next place, in the words of our Lord Jesus Him- 
self when He says to His disciples, and to the entire Church, 
both to warn and to comfort them : " Blessed are ye, when men 
shall hate, revile, and reproach you, and when they shall sepa- 
rate you from their company, and persecute you, cast out your 
names as evil, and shall say all manner of evil against you 
falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad : for great 
is your reward iu heaven : for so persecuted they the prophets 
which were before you. (Matt. 5:11; Luke 6 : 22) .... 
Since we find that such unjust and grievous complaining on the 
part of these troublesome people works great injury to the divine 
Word and to the churches of this section which we are called 
upon to serve by God's help and assistance, and grieves many 
pious and God-fearing christians, and disturbs many weak con- 
sciences, for these just and sufficient reasons we have felt con- 
strained to prepare a Scriptural vindication of the catechism 
and Christian doctrine of these churches. . . . . Finally, 
we ask the Christian reader that each one, in the light of his own 
duty and for his own advantage, seek the truth with an impar- 
tial mind and avoid falsehood. Aud since we desire and wish 
nothing more than that our writings and those of our opponents 
be thoroughly examined in comparison with each other and with 
the Word of God with all diligence, and with a sole design to 
know the truth ; although our opponents make use of every 
effort and means with the authorities and with the people to 
have our writings torn from the hands of the people, to have 
them removed out of sight, and to prohibit their sale in city 
and country ; every sensible man, therefore, may readily see 
which party is less afraid and anxious about its cause and whose 
fault it is that Christian unity cannot be brought about through 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



471 



a knowledge of the truth. For if our opponents were as walling 
and ready as we are to search for and accept the truth by means 
of an amicable and impartial colloquy, we do not doubt that all 
dispute and dissension would soon be silenced and the Church 
would attain to blessed rest and peace. And we earnestly pray 
the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that by His Spirit 
of truth and peace He would move and incline all Christian 
hearts in this direction, for the sake of His dear Son, our Lord 
Jesus Christ. Amen." 

To the vindication of the doctrine of the catechism, 
which had been assailed, there is added a " conclusion 
in the form of an apology to Christian and peaceful 
people, who might think that in parts the vindication 
was perhaps unnecessary or too vehement." Follow- 
ing this the words of the Church father Augustine are 
quoted (Epist. 7): "That love for oneself is wicked 
which desires that others might be in error, in order 
that one's own error might be concealed." 

These treatises, written with much ingenuity and 
ability, are rather of an apologetical than of a polemi- 
cal character. Their chief aim is to prepare the people 
for the attacks of opponents and to establish them in 
the truth they had accepted. 

Ursinus was not permitted to labor long in Neu- 
stadt. His vigor was exhausted by his excessive 
labors at Heidelberg, where he was not only professor, 
and the preparation of many writings fell to his lot, 
but also president of the " Sapienz-College," a the- 
ological seminary, whose only professor he was for a 
time, and whose economic management also depended 
upon him, on account of which he sometimes spoke of 
it in letters as his " tread-mill."* He was not of a 

* Over the door of his study he had placed the following 
inscription : 

"Amice, quisquis hue venis, 
Aut agito paucis, aut abi, 
Aut me laborantern juva." 
(" Friend, whoever thou art that enterest here, be brief, or go, 
or help me in my work.") 



472 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



contentious disposition, but sincerely loved and sought 
peace ; at the same time he would not evade a conflict 
for the truth when forced upon him, however deeply it 
might wound his heart. He wrote to Bullinger : " From 
this conflict I carry a wound which I do not expect to 
be healed of in this life." He died May 6, 1583, only 
48 years of age, and was buried in the choir of the par- 
ish church at Neustadt. His epitaph speaks of him as 
" a great theologian, victorious over heresies concerning 
the person of Christ and the Lord's Supper, endowed 
with great power as a speaker and a writer, a keen phil- 
osopher, a wise man, and an earnest teacher of youth. ' y 
Olevianus, after his dismissal from office at Heidel- 
berg, was called by Count Louis of Wittgenstein, lord- 
high-steward and friend of Frederick III., to Berle- 
burg, and here again he took an active part in the 
development of the Church. In the year 1584 he 
went to Herborn, where a Reformed university soon 
flourished under his direction. The General Synod, 
over which he presided (1586), adopted the presbyter- 
ial and sy nodical form of government for the districts 
of ^Nassau, Wittgenstein, Solms and Wied. The fol- 
lowing year he was overtaken by a critical illness, and 
calmly looked forward to his end. In his last will and 
testament he says after the introductory words : 

" In the first place, I thank my dear God the Father, Son,, 
and Holy Ghost, that He created me a rational creature in this 
world ; then in particular, that He efficaciously called me and 
bestowed upon me the gift of faith, that He quickened me in 
our only Mediator and Savior Jesus Christ, when I was dead 
in sin, and bestowed upon me in Him the righteousness of God 
through the holy sacrifice of my Savior Jesus Christ, as well as- 
the hope of glory, and that He has revealed unto me the riches 
of His grace, viz., that He predestinated me by grace to sonship 
in Christ, w^hence all these blessings flow, and that He has made 
me a partaker of the same through the spirit of adoption, w r here- 
by we cry " Abba, Father." 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 473 

The subscription, written in his own hand, is as fol- 
lows : " I, Caspar Olevianus, declare by my own signa- 
ture and openly testify before the Holy Trinity that, 
by the help of God's Spirit and grace, I have taught, 
both in word and writing, the pure Christian faith, 
and that I, being sealed by the Holy Ghost, persevere 
in the same faith and doctrine by God's grace unto 
eternal salvation, relying upon the grace which He has 
revealed unto me in His Word. Amen, through Jesus 
Christ." On his deathbed he said: "I have only 
learned to know in this sickness what sin is, and how 
great is the majesty of God, and that it is not sufficient 
for men only to desire companionship with God." 
Then he spoke of a vision he had : " Yesterday I was 
filled for more than an hour with unspeakable joy. It 
appeared to me that I was walking in a meadow 
resplendent with light, and while I was moving about, 
heavenly dew fell upon me, not in drops but in streams. 
Both my body and soul were filled with exceeding 
great joy." His friend, John Piscator, said to him: 
" So the good Shepherd has led you into His green 
pastures?" " Yes," he answered, " he has led me to the 
fountain of living water." He asked that Psalm 42 
and Isaiah 53 and other chapters of the Word of God 
be read to him, and then exclaimed : " I would no 
longer postpone my journey to the Lord, I desire to 
depart and be with Christ." He asked his friends, 
who were standing at his bedside, to sing the hymn; 
" Nun bitten wir den Heiligen Geist" (" Now pray we 
the Holy Ghost"), he himself joining in the singing 
with a weak voice. Then he bade farewell to his aged 
mother and his friends, shaking hands with them and 
blessing them. When at the point of death, his col- 
league, Alsted, approached him and said : *' Dear 
brother, you are undoubtedly certain of your salvation 
in Christ, even as you have taught others ?" the dying 
37 



474 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



man laid his hand upon his heart and said : " Certissi- 
mus !" i. e., " most certain !" This was Olevianus' last 
word. He died March 15, 1587. 

Thus the three authors of the Heidelberg Catechism 
lived and labored, thus they died, and both in their 
life and in their death they verified what they had 
professed. 

The reign of Elector Louis VI. was of short duration. 
He died in 1583. The work of reformation which he 
had carried on by force experienced the truth expressed 
by one of his mottoes : " Everything passes away." 
John Casimir, who administered the government for his 
nephew, still under age, subsequently Elector Freder- 
ick IV., restored not only the old Directory of Wor- 
ship, but also the Heidelberg Catechism in the entire 
Lower Palatinate, where under the reigns of Frederick 
IV. and Frederick V. it was again earnestly taught 
and brought with it a rich blessing. Scarcely had the 
catechism been adopted by the Synod of Dort (1619) 
as a confession of the entire Reformed Church* when 
it encountered a period full of vicissitudes through the 
Thirty Years' War. When Frederick V., after the 
unfortunate battle at the White Mountain near Prague, 
had lost his dominions and had fled to Holland, the 
Palatinate was invaded by Spanish and Bavarian troops. 
With them came monks of every order, who undertook 

* The resolution was as follows : "It is unanimously declared 
with the heartiest approval of the foreign as well as of the Nether- 
land theologians that the doctrine embraced in the Palatinate Cate- 
chism is in accordance with the Word of God, and that it obtains 
nothing which on the ground of dissonance with the Word of God 
needs to be altered or amended, and that it is also an exceedingly 
correct hand book of sound Christian doctrine adapted with special 
skill, not ouly to the capacity of youth, but also to adults, that, 
therefore, it may hereafter be taught with much profit in the Neth- 
erland churches, and it must, by all means, be retained (adopted at 
the 147th and 148th sessions, May 1, 1619). 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 475 



the work of proselyting. First of all, the Heidelberg 
Catechism was forced out and as many copies as possible 
were destroyed. There are still some copies of that day 
extant, which bear the title, " Catechism, or Instruction 
in Christian Doctrine, as it is conducted in the churches 
and schools of the Electoral Palatinate." As a result 
of the victories of Gustavus Adolphus it was again 
brought into general use for a time; but after the battle 
of Nordlingen (1634) it lost its place in the Palatinate 
throughout the continuance of the war. Not until the 
Peace of Westphalia (1648), when Charles Louis, the 
son of Frederick V. returned to his paternal inheritance, 
was the Heidelberg Catechism brought back from its 
banishment and used again to lead the generation de- 
moralized by war in the way of salvation and of piety. 

With the year 1685 a new period of conflict began, 
when, after the death of Charles, the last of the electors 
of the Reformed line of Simmern, the Neuburger family 
began to reign, with the late proselyte to Catholicism, 
Philip William, at its head. The Jesuits whom he 
brought with him attacked the catechism fiercely, es- 
pecially on account of the eightieth question. The cat- 
echism found an able defender in Lenfant, the court- 
preacher of the Elector's widow. ("The innocence of 
the Heidelberg Catechism." 1688. J His life being in 
danger on account of the Jesuits, he was compelled to 
flee to Berlin, where he again received an appointment 
to preach. The opposition was carried to the point of 
suppressing the catechism under the next Elector, 
John William, and during the French War of Reunion. 
It was taken away from the children of mixed mar- 
riages, and the children themselves were compelled to 
attend Catholic schools. Oppression and abuse were 
invoked to cause adults to apostatize from their faith. 
The " only comfort" was the support of many from 
whom had been taken both house and home, of many 



476 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



who were cast into prison and allowed to suffer there 
from cold. They were either to make a declaration 
that they had become Catholics of their own accord, or 
be left to perish in prison. When it was discovered 
that the prisoners strengthened themselves for resist- 
ance through the books they had brought with them 
(the Psalms and the catechism), these were taken away 
from them. But they were not dependent upon the 
outward letter. They remained true to their faith ; 
and although one and another had become weak, such 
recovered themselves with deep penitence. What the 
bailiff of Germersheim said, in anger on account of 
this fact, was true: "These Reformed are just like the 
willows by the brooks : though cut and stunted, they 
sprout again." True, indeed ! So said the prophet 
Jeremiah (17: 7, 8): "Blessed is the man that trust- 
eth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he 
shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that 
spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see 
when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green ; and 
shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither 
shall cease from yielding fruit." 

The opposition which had hitherto been waged 
against the catechism reached its climax under the 
reign of the Elector Charles Philip, when an attempt 
was made to suppress it altogether. In a proclamation 
" issued at Heidelberg, April 24, 1719," he commanded 
the catechism to be " suppressed" in the following 
manner. The officers were to " seize without exception 
within the space of three months all the copies con- 
taining the eightieth question and some other objec- 
tionable points." The reason given for this command 
was that this question was offensive to the Catholics, 
and that besides, the title-page of the book bore the 
electoral escutcheon, with the words, " by order of his 
serene Electoral Highness," and " with the permission 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 477 



of his Electoral Highness." This was "audacious, 
offensive and criminal." The catechism was not only 
removed from the schools, but was also taken away 
from the families. Therefore the bailiff of the place 
went from house to house to collect the copies. 
Another proclamation directed that the citizens in 
whose possession such books would thereafter be found 
must " pay to his gracious majesty a fine of ten florins 
for each copy." The collected copies were to be 
delivered to the magistrates. The officers everywhere 
complied, with the exception of the burgomaster and 
council of the city of Odernheim, who had to be com- 
pelled to carry out the order. That the Elector's pur- 
pose was not only to prohibit its use in his own coun- 
try, but, if possible, to destroy the catechism itself, is 
shown further by the circumstance that even the 
bookbinders were ordered under the threat of punish- 
ment to secure again and to hand over such copies as 
they had already sent to other countries. The copies 
that had been collected were burnt. The Catholic 
pulpits found pleasure in whipping the catechism with 
rods in the presence of the devout worshipers. The 
Reformed Church Council at Heidelberg, which had 
also been commanded to withdraw the catechism, 
remonstrated against this. They cited the fact that the 
objectionable words had always been on the title-page, 
and that they had hitherto been printed on it in every 
new edition. Besides, the last edition had been issued 
by a Catholic printer without consultation with the 
consistory. In relation to the introduction and use of 
the catechism, they showed that it had been issued by 
the Elector Frederick III. himself in 1563 and triumph- 
antly defended at Augsburg in 1566, acknowledged at 
Dort in 1619 by all the Reformed churches as a con- 
fession of faith, and had been in use ever since for 
more than 150 years without being prohibited. Assur- 



478 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



ances were also given that Question 80 referred only 
to the doctrine, without in the least condemning the 
persons themselves. In conclusion the Consistory 
referred to its obligations, in virtue of which it was 
bound to maintain the confessional position of the 
Church. 

In answer to this memorial, the members of the 
Consistory were verbally informed that the command 
would have to stand, and that unconditional obedience 
to it would be expected. Besides this violent action, 
the elector committed another offence by taking away 
from the Beformed the Church of the Holy Ghost and 
giving it to the Catholics. The Consistory discharged 
its duty in 3'emonstrating again and again, but were 
always put off. As the Reformed did not wish to 
leave any lawful means untried, they sent a complaint 
to the Protestant States of the empire (Corpus Evan- 
gelicorum). The Keformed States especially espoused 
with energy the cause of the Palatinate brethren, and 
foremost among them was the Landgrave of Hesse- 
Cassel, who in a letter sought to persuade the elector 
to revoke his order, by calling especial attention to the 
fact that the confession adopted at Trent on the part of 
the Catholics condemned not only the doctrines of the 
Lutherans and the Beformed, but their persons as well. 
So also the Eeformed king, Frederick William I. of 
Prussia, sent an ambassador to urge the release of the 
catechism, on the ground that it was the confession of 
the Reformed Church in Germany, and, as such, 
security was given to it with all its contents. The 
ambassador, Lord von Hecht, was unremitting in his 
efforts, and with him stood the ambassadors (who had 
meanwhile arrived) of the Landgrave of Hesse and of 
the Eeformed European potentates, viz., of the king of 
Great Britain and of the states of Holland. These now 
demanded most explicitly that the elector must again 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



479 



allow the free use of the Reformed Heidelberg Catechism 
in the countries of the Palatinate, and must restore it 
to the subjects themselves. To meet the emergency of 
continual refusal, the powers threatened, since all their 
remonstrances and entreaties were in vain, to curtail 
the liberty of worship of their Catholic subjects. In 
spite of this intervention, the suppression of the cate- 
chism was continued amid the persistent resistance of 
the peo.ple and their ministers. At Odernheim one of 
the Reformed was cast into prison and was given only 
bread and water, because he would not comply with the 
order of the bailiff to search for copies of the catechism 
that were still concealed in the houses. Only the 
most earnest intervention of the ambassador of Great 
Britain succeeded in securing liberty for him. Even 
the pope interfered in the matter, and encouraged the 
elector to continue in his " praiseworthy" zeal. On 
the other hand, the Reformed Consistory was also 
encouraged and strengthened by comforting messages 
from abroad. The Archbishop of Canterbury wrote in 
the name of the Anglican Church to the Palatinate 
Consistory, his " greatly beloved brethren in Christ." 
The letter begins thus : 

" We, the archbishops and bishops of the Anglican Church, 
greet you and the congregations entrusted to you with due 
friendship and love. We, as members of the same body with 
you, heartily lament and are as deeply touched by the hard and 
cruel persecutions which you suffer for righteousness' sake, as 
if we were called upon to suffer them in our own persons. 
This you must not regard as a kindness flowing from pity, but 
rather as the expression of a duty which we owe to you and our 
Savior Jesus Christ." 

The assurance is then given that the king and par- 
liament are firmly resolved to assist the Reformed 
people of the Palatinate. On this account England 
also was compelled to become a party to the guarantee 
of the Peace of Westphalia. The letter ends thus : 



480 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



May the chief Shepherd of our souls aud the bishop of our 
-Church grant that this righteous work which we have begun 
may reach a happy issue, aud that through the present perse- 
cutions, which are directed not only against you, but against 
all Evangelical-Reformed churches, the Evangelical-Reformed 
princes may once be aroused and stirred up to take rightly to 
heart the welfare of our Church, and to agree upon measures 
for its protection ; for our deadly enemies, the Jesuits, need 
nothing more at the present time than sufficient power to sup- 
press, and, if possible, to devour us, and the sooner they can do 
it, the better they will like it. In this connection, what else 
does it behoove us Protestants to consider, than how to organ- 
ize ourselves in good time for defense, and not to allow when 
some of us are attacked, our whole Church to be over- 
thrown and destroyed. God Almighty grant that we may 
bring about among ourselves an alliance for the permauent 
protection of the Protestant Church, and as our Savior Jesus 
Christ has established it upon the eternal rock, so may He 
continue to strengthen and maintain it upon this immovable 
foundation and not permit the gates of hell to prevail against 
it. This ought to be the desire of us all. In this direction we 
must labor with united strength. To this end we will encour- 
age one another with the words wdiich the valiant general Joab 
addressed to his brother Abishai and his fellow-combatants, 
when they were attacked at one and the same time by the 
Syrians and the Ammonites (2 Sam. 10 : 12) : ' Be of good 
courage, and let us play the men for our people, and for the 
cities of our God, and the Lord do that which seemeth Him 
good.' " 

The complaints against the prohibition of the cate- 
chism and the taking away of the Church of the Holy 
Ghost were finally also brought before the Emperor 
and the Imperial Diet. The violation of the law on the 
part of the Elector was so apparent that even the Em- 
peror had to decide against him, however unwilling he 
was to do so on account of confessional interest. 
Although ordered to permit the free use of the book, 
he endeavored in the course of the negotiation to secure 
from the Palatinate Consistory an alteration or modifi- 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 481 



cation of the language of Question 80. But the Con- 
sistory now also stood firm, and declared that it was 
not authorized to make changes in a symbolical book 
of the Church. Thus the Heidelberg Catechism 
emerged from this siege of persecution unaltered, and 
its use was continued to the blessing of young and old. 

The electoral Palatinate was blotted out in the first 
French revolution, never to arise again. After Ger- 
many's deliverance from the French yoke, it was 
divided among the neighboring states. In different 
provinces the Palatinate Catechism remained in use, 
until it was displaced, like Luther's catechism, in those 
provinces into which the union was introduced, in 
1817, a century after the abortive attempt to suppress 
it by force. In the Bavarian Palatinate a catechism 
was substituted, in which one of the first questions was 
this : " What is man's chief end ?" " Man's chief end 
is to know the truth and to do good, in order that he 
may thereby become virtuous and happy." About the 
year 1850 this book was superseded by another cate- 
chism, prepared by Ebrard, and, like that prepared by 
Ullmann for Baden, which followed the arrangement 
of the Heidelberg Catechism, it was a blending of the 
same with the Lutheran Catechism. Both books (the 
Palatinate in 1869, the Bavarian in 1882) yielded to 
the advance of Liberalism in Church and state. 

In this way the blessed old Heidelberg Catechism 
has been shut out from its native home for more than 
fifty years, but it left its impress for decades upon the 
hearts of the departing generation. To this I can 
testify. 

In 1851 I was pastor, in my native Palatinate home, 
of the congregation at Billingheim, an old electoral 
Palatinate town and the birthplace of Billicanus, well- 
known in the history of the Reformation. How could 
I instruct my catechumens in the above named cate- 



482 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



chisra ? I resorted to the expedient of dictating my 
own manual for catechumens, which the law allowed us 
to do, besides using the above named book. The 
congregation was originally Reformed, and according 
to the charter of the union the symbolical books " were 
to be held in proper esteem," and so with a good con- 
science I began with the first catechetical lesson to dic- 
tate to the children out of my own manual for catechu- 
mens the " only comfort," the first question of the Hei- 
delberg Catechism. After a few lessons, I noticed that 
several children discontinued writing out the questions 
and answers, and when I questioned them with refer- 
ence to the matter, they answered : " Herr Parre, mer 
hawe's gedruckt; misse mer's dann noch schreiwe?" 
(" Dear pastor, we have it in print ; must we also write 
it out?") As the children committed at home the dic- 
tated exercises, the old people's memory was awakened, 
and everything appeared familiar to them. It had 
scarcely become known that these lessons could be 
found in the " Heidelberg Catechism," when the chil- 
dren explored every garret and lumber-room, with the 
result that they brought to church old copies of the 
Heidelberg Catechism of all sizes and styles of binding. 

In the same congregation I met the long-since sup- 
pressed catechism with a poor widow on her dying- 
bed ; not in the lumber-room, but in the chamber of 
her heart. The woman indicated in her conversation 
that she had a knowledge of the Word of God, and 
when I finally pointed her to her only comfort in the 
language of the Heidelberg Catechism, she took the 
words out of my mouth, and repeated in prayer almost 
word for word the answer to the first question.* 

* Professor Plitt (later of Bonn) had similar experiences at that 
time in Heidelberg. " In the congregation which had been served 
by one of the authors of the Heidelberg Catechism, Olevianus, the 
Church of the Holy Ghost at Heidelberg, I learned to know many 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 483 



When in 1854 this new catechism was introduced, I 
had another experience of how the Heidelberg Cate- 
chism maintained itself, in an old Reformed congrega- 
tion on the Rhine, at Iggelheim, where the Elector 
Frederick the Pious had a hunting castle, at which he 
frequently sojourned. There it was the custom for the 
children to sleep with their grandparents in a rear 
room reserved for the old people. I soon discovered in 
my pastoral visits that in the evening after retiring, 
the old people, before going to sleep, would recite and 
discuss with their grandchildren who were attending 
catechetical instruction questions taken from the Hei- 
delberg Catechism. I could tell in my instruction 
where such evening catechization had taken place. Yes, 
if our old Heidelberg Catechism could relate the whole 
story of its life and sufferings, what great things we 
should hear ! 

old men and women whose eyes brightened wnen upon their sick- 
beds and deathbeds their attention was directed to the first question 
of the catechism. Most of them remembered the question from the 
days of their childhood. Many of them said that as children they 
were not able fully to understand the question, and that it was a 
burden to them to learn it by heart ; now, however, they thanked 
God that they knew it, and could use it in prayer to their comfort 
and strengthening. The later generation which had not been brought 
up on the Heidelberg Catechism had no such anchorage. The older 
people, to whom had been entrusted in their youth the riches of the 
Heidelberg Catechism, passed through all the changeful scenes of 
life without being disturbed in their souls. They stood upon an im- 
movable foundation. How the attention was quickened when occa- 
sionally the outline of a sermon was taken from the Heidelberg Cat- 
echism. How the lips of the older people would move, silently join- 
ing in repeating the question, when one of the pithy questions of the 
catechism was cited in the sermon. The days of their youth would 
be revived. To hear the old familiar tones did them good. They 

sounded through their souls like a message from home The 

Heidelberg Catechism still lives. In three hundred years it has not 

died ; it lives in the hearts of Christians It will not die as 

long as the Protestant Church stands." Theol. Studien und Krit- 
iken, 1863, p. 24, etc. 



484 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



From the beginning the Reformed Church did not 
want in good catechisms. One needs only to be 
reminded of those of Calvin, Bullinger and a'Lasco. 
But none breathed so thoroughly the right spirit and 
met all the requirements of such a book as the Heidel- 
berg Catechism, and for this reason it was everywhere 
joyfully welcomed, and reached a wide circulation. 
This accounts for the fact that, apart from the Bible, 
this book has been translated into more languages than 
any other, and more copies of it have been circulated 
than of any other book. At the same time that the 
second German edition appeared, a Latin edition was 
published (1563). Subsequently it was translated into 
Dutch (1566 by Dathen, and 1580 by C. van der 
Heyden) ; into Greek (1597 by Sylburg), a copy of 
which was sent to the patriarch of Constantinople ; by 
order of the states of Holland into modern Greek and 
Spanish (1648) ; into Polish by Prasmovius ; into 
Hungarian (1577) by Huszar, later by Skarasi, and 
then revised by Molnar) ; into Arabic by Chelius ; 
into Singalese by Konijn (1741), besides into Hebrew, 
Low Saxon, English, Scotch, French, Italian, Bohe- 
mian and Malay (1621). 

Outside of the Palatinate, the Heidelberg Catechism 
was first adopted as a book of instruction in Germany 
-by the congregations of refugees from the Netherlands, 
the " congregations of the cross," by the Synod of 
Wesel, 1568, and of Emden, 1571, and thus it found 
its way into East-Friesland, where a'Lasco's cate- 
chism had been used. Then it was adopted by the 
Reformed congregations on the Lower Rhine (Julich- 
Cleve-Berg, Mark, etc.*), in which in accordance with 

* The first Synod of Berg was held in the parsonage at Neviges. 
The first paragraph of the minutes is as follows : " After having in- 
voked the Dame of God, it was unanimously resolved and ordained 
by this Synod that, as there is among the present ministers perfect 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



485 



the synodical resolutions adopted in 1576, sermons 
were preached on it, and after 1586 it was made bind- 
ing by oath upon pastors and teachers. Nassau and 
the neighboring dominions adopted it in 1581, Anhalt 
in 1596. Soon after the year 1600 the catechism was 
more extensively introduced. In 1613 it found its 
way into Brandenburg after the elector John Sigis- 
mund had embraced the Reformed faith, and thence 
into the Reformed congregations of the eastern provin- 
ces of Prussia. When in 1695 the parochial church of 
Berlin was built, which was the first Reformed church 
of the city, there were placed in the corner-stone, 
besides other documents, a Herborn Bible (translated 
by the Reformed pastor Piscator) and a Heidelberg 
Catechism, both bound in black and fastened with 
large gilded clasps. At the dedication of the Jerusa- 
lem church of the city (on Easter Monday, 1708), at 
which both Reformed and Lutheran ministers officiated, 
the Heidelberg and the Lutheran Catechisms lay side 
by side during the service on the communion table, 
which occupied the place from which the altar had 
been removed. The cathedral church was originally 
Reformed, and until the middle of the present century 
the youth were instructed in the Heidelberg Cate- 
chism, and the princes of the house of Hohenzollern 
were confirmed upon the basis of the same catechism.. 
According to the royal Prussian " Evangelical Re- 
formed Regulations" instituted for the guidance of 
inspectors, presbyteries, classes, gymnasia and schools, 
October 24, 1713, which were issued as a " permanent 
pragmatic law," no Reformed " pastor or teacher" was 

accord as to the doctrine of the Word of God, since they have sepa- 
rated themselves from the papal abominations, and hold to the pure 
doctrine of the Gospel, and in particular to the Heidelberg Cate- 
chism, as the doctrine which they find to be absolutely based upon 
the Word of God." 



486 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



to be permitted to use any other catechism but this 
one. In a mandate issued November 9, 1717, by 
King Frederick William I. he commands : 

" That in all Evangelical churches and schools of all my do- 
minions there shall be used and taught no other catechism but 
the Heidelberg Catechism, to which I myself hold allegiance." 

These mandates were not affected by the union 
introduced into Prussia, since King Frederick William 
III. expressly declared that the confessional status of 
the two Churches was not to be changed by the union. 
The Heidelberg Catechism was adopted in the duchy 
of Zweibruecken after 1600. In Bremen it had been 
introduced earlier, for in 1621 it was ordered that it 
should be made binding upon the ministers by oath. 
Beginning with 1575, it gradually made its way into 
Lower Hesse, and was formally adopted there in 1655. 

In what was formerly the earldom, but is now the 
principality of Lippe, in which a change from the 
Lutheran to the Reformed faith was consummated at 
the close of the century under the reign of the 
Reformed count Simon VI., there was adopted in the 
year 1612 the " Catechismus Angerii," printed at Cas- 
sel and made up of selections from the Heidelberg 
Catechism. As early as 1623 it began to be super- 
seded by the Heidelberg Catechism itself. In the 
Directory of Worship of 1684, which is still binding, 
it is stated (chap. 8) : 

" No minister is to be allowed to introduce any other or spec- 
ial catechism, but each one must be faithful to the Heidelberg 
Catechism, and must present and explain its questions and an- 
swers with sufficient clearness to enable all to understand them." 

The same is required of the teachers (chap. 13). For 
this purpose the Commentary on the Heidelberg 
Catechism prepared by Frederick Adolph Lampe (a 
native of Detmold) and published under the title, 
"The Milk of the Truth," was diligently used in the 
last century by ministers and teachers. When in 1781 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



487 



a normal school was founded at Detraold and an 
attempt was made by the one party to set aside the 
Heidelberg Catechism, the sovereign, Count Simon 
Augustus, to whom all papers pertaining to the matter 
had to be submitted, published his decision in an auto- 
graph manuscript as follows : 

" That the Heidelberg Catechism, which has been adopted in 
this earldom, and upon which all the regulations pertaining to 
candidates and ministers are based, must be retained, since it 
especially has become of the highest importance in the midst of 
the present conflicting world-systems. " 

In this century an attempt, which in effect succeeded,* 
was made to set aside the catechism indirectly as a 
book of instruction in the schools and for catechetical 
classes, by introducing a " Guide for Religious Instruc- 
tion in Schools" (Lemgo 1811). When in 1843 the 
Consistory directly introduced the " Guide" as a book 
of instruction in the place of the Heidelberg Cate- 
chism, and the regulations pertaining to candidates 
and ministers were altered accordingly, a struggle 
began, in which at first only five ministers joined, and 
which some of the congregations approved and others 
opposed. It was at that time that a large number of 
the members of the congregation of Langenholzhausen 
sold their houses and farms and emigrated to America, 
rather than give up their Heidelberg Catechism. 
They still constitute the mainstay of the flourishing 
Reformed congregation at Franklin, Wisconsin, in 
whose midst is located a Reformed theological semi- 
nary. 

* The book was not arranged in catechetical form, but in the 
form of paragraphs, the first of which is as follows : "When man 
begins to reflect earnestly upon the world and upon himself, he de- 
sires to know who has created all thing*, for what purpose they were 
created, how he is to conduct himself, and to what he may look for- 
ward if he conducts himself properly." This was to take the place 
of " thy only comfort !" 



488 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



In the year 1856 was reached a crisis that proved 
favorable to the Heidelberg Catechism. In the regu- 
lations for administering the oath of office to candidates 
and ministers, the old ordinance was restored : " that 
I will teach nothing but what is in accordance with 
the writings of the Old and the New Testament and 
in accordance with the confession of faith based upon 
them, which is held by the Church reformed accord- 
ing to God's Word, viz., the Heidelberg Catechism." 
Next the catechism became one of the subjects of agita- 
tion on the part of the liberal party in the state, who 
desired to have it abolished. Here again it was a 
ministerial order of the sovereign, Prince Leopold III., 
which diverted the storm and secured for the Heidel- 
berg Catechism the right which belongs to it accord- 
ing to the decrees of the Church.* 

The three hundredth anniversary of the Heidelberg 
Catechism was celebrated by the Reformed people of 
Germany, July 7-9, 1863, at Detmold, in a conference 
of Reformed ministers, elders and candidates.f 

A few years later the political situation of the coun- 
try gave rise to another assault upon and defence of 
the Heidelberg Catechism in the Reichstag, 301 years 
after the memorable day at Augsburg. The attack 
was led by a very active democratic agitator, who was 
a deputy in the Reichstag, and the defence was con- 
ducted by Lord von Oheimb, a good Lutheran, at that 
time minister of Lippe. It was in the session of the 
North German Reichstag in Berlin, on the 23d day of 
October, 1867, and the subject under consideration 
was a complaint from the country concerning certain 

* The order of April 30, 1863, which is worthy of special atten- 
tion, may be found in my Evangelical Reformed Church Paper, 
1863, p. "167, etc. 

f See Acts and Proceedings of the Conference in my Evangeli- 
cal Reformed Church Paper, 1863, page 273, etc. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 489 



points of administration. The address of the minister,, 
which at the same time gives us a clear understanding 
of the progress of the conflict, was, according to the- 
stenographic report, as follows : 

" There is a third point, embracing special complaints,, 
against my administration. They pertain to a most serious 
sphere, and on the other hand a sphere with which, no doubt,, 
in my judgment neither the Federal Council nor the Reichstag 
can in any way interfere according to the constitution. They 
pertain to the religious sphere, and in the name of my adminis- 
tration I must protest most earnestly against the Reichstag re- 
solving to refer this matter to the Imperial Chancellor in any 
form whatever, although I have no reason to fear an investiga- 
tion of the transactions that have taken place in relation thereto 
since my administration began. It would take me very far if 
I were to enter upon the discussion of this complaint, the lan- 
guage of which is as follows : 

" ' That the authorities have arbitrarily interfered with our 
constitutionally established confessional status, in that they have 
prohibited even under the threat of ecclesiastical punishment 
those religious books which promote a rational Christianity, and 
have been in use for more than fifty years, and have forcibly 
substituted for them against the express will of the schools and 
t e churches, the highly antiquated Heidelberg Catechism of 
the year 1563, and likewise a hymn book of the same tendency/ 
• " I say it would take me entirely too far to enter in detail 
upon a discussion of this point. When I entered upon my of- 
fice, I found a most violent religious controversy that had lasted 
for a number of years, and had assumed widespread proportions, 
requiring immediate adjustment. For my part, I did not seek 
the controversy, but when I was compelled to take cognizance 
of it, f entered upon it with all the earnestness and decision the 
situation demanded, which at that time had assumed such dimen- 
sions that in different congregations a state of rebellion existed, 
and on this account a considerable portion of the ministry 
and of the membership claimed — basing their claims upon the 
opinions of eminent authorities in canon law and in theology — 
that the confessional standing of the Church was suffering. 
Upon this point I will cite names well known to most of the 
gentlemen and highly esteemed by them, among others that of 

38 



490 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



the still living Provost Nitzsch himself, and that of the late 
Privy Councillor Richter, the eminent professor of canon law. 
These gentlemen considered the matter of so much importance 
that they addressed themselves even to the sovereign of the land, 
and requested that he should extend relief to the distressed con- 
dition of the Reformed Church ; and just as I entered into office 
there was before me a very voluminous complaint based upon 
such opinions, which I as a layman desired to treat with the 
greatest care, and as the complaint was directed against the Con- 
sistory, I submitted it for a formal opinion to a foreign Church 
judicatory, the Prussian Consistory at Coblenz. After they had 
rendered their opinion, I proceeded in the matter according to 
the obligations which the Church government enjoins, and which 
according to the Church law in force at my entrance into office, is 
laid as a duty upon the sovereign of the land, viz., to protect the 
confessional standing of the Reformed churches of the land in so 
far as it is in accordance with the Word of God and the Church's 
special symbol, the Heidelberg Catechism, and not as was done 
at that time, to withhold the Heidelberg Catechism from the 
schools." 

A recent attempt to modernize the language of the 
Heidelberg Catechism and, thereby, to alter it mater- 
ially, 'may be regarded as abandoned. 

Since 1887 there has been prescribed for candidates 
a six weeks' course in the normal school, and according 
to direction they are obliged before entering, among 
other things, " to work out for themselves an outline 
of the Heidelberg Catechism in detail." 

Outside of Germany the catechism was adopted as 
follows : In 1574 in the Netherlands (at the Synod of 
Dort), after it had been in use there since 1568; in 
1577 it found entrance into Hungary, and was adopted 
by synodical authority in 1646. At an early period it 
was introduced into Switzerland, first in the canton of 
Bern, then in St. Gall and Schaffhausen, and soon in 
almost all the Reformed cantons. In Poland it soon 
became the general book of instruction, and was held 
in high esteem. It is used in the Reformed congrega- 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



491 



tions of Austria, in Bohemia and Moravia, as well as 
in Russia. In England, Scotland and France it was 
not adopted as a book of instruction, but is recognized 
as a confession of faith. 

In the United States of America it was first brought 
from the Palatinate by German immigrants, who, on 
account of the persecutions of the catechism by the 
Catholic electors, escaped with it across the ocean and 
settled for the most part in Pennsylvania, where to-day 
yet one meets with many things reminding one of the 
Palatinate, both in speech and customs. In the Re- 
formed Church of North America it has been adopted 
both as a confession and as a book of instruction. 
An Article of the " Constitution of the Reformed 
Church in the United States" says : " The Heidelberg 
Catechism is the only book that is accepted as an 
authoritative expression of the truths taught in the 
Holy Scriptures, and is acknowledged as the standard 
of doctrine in the Reformed Church in the United 
States." " Licentiates" (candidates) obligate themselves 
when they are licensed as follows (Art. 4) : "I hereby 
testify that I honestly and truly hold the doctrines of 
the Heidelberg Catechism to be the doctrines' revealed 
to us in the Bible, and promise, moreover, faithfully to 
preach and defend the same," etc. Likewise " teachers 
of theology" (professors in the theological seminaries) 
are required, " at their inauguration, solemnly to affirm 
the following declaration, as by an oath in the presence 

of God, in a public assembly" (Art. 19) : " You, N — 

N , professor elect of the theological seminary of 

the Reformed Church in the United States at N , 

acknowledge . . . further that the doctrine con- 
tained in the Heidelberg Catechism, is the doctrine of 
the Holy Scriptures. You declare sincerely that in the 
office you are about to assume, you will make the 
inviolable divine authority of the Holy Scriptures, and 



492 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



the truth of the doctrine contained in the Heidelberg 
Catechism, the basis of all your instructions, and faith- 
fully maintain and defend the same in your preaching 
and writing, as well as in your instructions," etc. The 
Tercentenary of the catechism was brilliantly celebrated 
in the United States in 1863. 

In the Reformed Church of South Africa, in Cape 
Colony and the Transvaal Republic, the Heidelberg 
Catechism is held in high esteem as a confession of 
faith and as a book of instruction. 

The latest page in the history of the catechism has 
reached me while I am writing this history. It is the 
information that in Japan two Reformed denominations, 
the missionary Churches of the Congregationalists and 
the Presbyterians, at a synod in Tokio, May, 1887, 
united upon the basis of the infallible Word of God as 
contained in the Old and the New Testament and adop- 
ted as their symbols the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene 
Creed, as well as the Westminster and Heidelberg Cat- 
echisms.* 

We have learned to know the Heidelberg Catechism 
in its life history of more than 300 years, as teacher, 
confessor and martyr in behalf of Christianity. We 
also see it as a missionary among the heathen, even as 
the old translations into Singalese and Malay were pre- 
pared for missionary service in the Dutch Indies, and 
that into Spanish for similar service in the West Indies. 
About the middle of this century nearly 30,000 Chris- 
tians, who had been entirely lost sight of, were discov- 
ered on the Sanguir Islands in the Indian Archipelago. 
There was a vague rumor that on some islands north of 
the Celebes, which belong to the Dutch, there were 
three Bibles and a few people that gathered about them. 
The Netherland Missionary Society sent missionaries 

* Quarterly Register of the Alliance of Reformed Churches 
holding the presbyterian system. No. 8. Oct, 1887. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 493 



thither and found the number of Christians that had 
been reported. The school children wrote on the bark 
of trees the most beautiful verses of Scripture. Twenty 
schools and churches were found, but without sacra- 
ments. In a short time 3000 adults and children were 
baptized, as they were found to possess sufficient knowl- 
edge of Christian doctrine. And whence had they 
obtained this knowledge ? They were acquainted with 
the Heidelberg Catechism, probably one of the older 
translations. It is possible that the earlier mission- 
aries to these islands had lost their lives or had given 
up the field long ago for different reasons. But one 
missionary remained and continued his labors under 
the blessing of God. He was the missionary from Hei- 
delberg. Now others joined him again. 

The great enmity of the world to the catechism has 
often manifested itself, but the rich blessing with which 
the Lord has attended it in the hearts of believers will 
not be fully known until the day of the revelation of 
Jesus Christ from heaven. Then, according to the 
promise (Matt. 10: 32), He will confess the Heidel- 
berg Catechism, which confessed Him before friend 
and foe. And the catechism can truly say with St. 
Paul : " Having, therefore, obtained help of God, I 
continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and 
great, saying none other things than those which the 
prophets and Moses did say should come : that Christ 
should suffer, and that he should be the first that 
should rise from the dead and should shew light unto 
the people, and to the Gentiles." 



494 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



II. 

THE EEFOEMED METHOD OF CATECHIZING. 

It is often said that the Heidelberg Catechism is not 
adapted as a book of instruction to the wants of either 
teachers or pupils ; that it is too difficult to learn and 
to teach. But when the objection is thoroughly sifted, 
there remains nothing for it to rest upon except the 
length of the answers to some of the questions in the 
Catechism, and to silence it altogether, let us look 
back three hundred years and consider the low grade 
of intelligence among the people, the length of the 
school term, limited to the winter months, the lack 
of compulsory education, the few branches taught, and 
the meagre knowledge of the best teachers of the com- 
mon schools, who lacked utterly in professional train- 
ing. In the country the teaching was done by the sex- 
tons and bell-ringers, who at the same time followed 
their trades, while schoolmistresses were provided for 
the girls. Yet these simple but earnest-minded peo- 
ple, under the guidance of their pastors and with the 
help of God, advanced the people's knowledge of the 
Scriptures to such an extent that after the Cate- 
chism had been in use fifty years, the Electoral Palati- 
nate delegates to the Synod of Dort joyfully declared 
that among them the words of the prophet Joel had 
been fulfilled of late years : "And your sons and your 
daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream 
dreams, your young men shall see visions" (Joel 1 : 
28). To-day, when systematic instruction is more gen- 
eral and of a higher order, and teachers are trained 
professionally, it should certainly be possible to attain 
the same success in the use of the Catechism. The 
multiplication of subjects in the public schools and the 
wider distribution of interest on the part of the pupils 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 495 



which it entails, is counterbalanced by the more regu- 
lar attendance and the greater length of the school 
term. The religious instruction of the people by the 
use of the Heidelberg Catechism is greatly facilitated 
by the clearness and simplicity of the book, so that the 
contents of the answers need only to be unfolded and 
illustrated to the pupils. As early as 1585 an attempt 
was made to remove the difficulty occasioned by the 
length of some of the answers of the Catechism by the- 
official publication at Heidelberg of a so-called 
"Smaller Heidelberg Catechism." The preface says t 
" The purpose of this summary of the larger Heidel- 
berg Catechism is not to introduce a new catechism, or 
to supersede the larger one, which explains in detail 
the chief articles of Christian doctrine . . . But as 
some questions of the larger catechism may be too' 
long and others too difficult for plain and simple 
people and growing youth, we have prepared this 
summary or smaller catechism. Especially has the- 
doctrine of the holy sacraments been so set forth from 
the Word of God in a few questions that it is hoped 
the unfounded accusations which have been brought 
against it may be silenced and all fair-minded persons- 
satisfied, while the plain people and the youth will 
find in it a helpful guide in Christian doctrine until 
they are prepared to take up the larger catechism." 

This summary was to serve also only as a prepara- 
tion for the larger catechism. While on the one hand 
it was a simplification, yet it served to make the later 
instruction more difficult, because the abridgment of 
the summary made different forms of expression neces- 
sary, which confused the children when they came to 
learn the unabridged questions of the larger catechism. 
And after all the two books were different, which was 
found to be a drawback in committing the answers, 
since the memory of children is local rather than* 
logical. 



496 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



The same end was sought to be gained by the Synod 
of Dort, in a resolution adopted at its 17th session 
(Nov. 30, 1618). The teachers were directed not only 
to drill their classes at least twice a week in memoriz- 
ing, but were also to explain the fundamental doctrines 
of the catechism, dividing the pupils into three sections 
-according to their age and capacity. In the first the 
chief articles (the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the Insti- 
tution of the Sacraments and the requirements of 
Church Discipline), together with a few short prayers, 
were to be learned and explained by the use of very 
brief questions relating to the three parts of the cate- 
chism ; in the second the smaller catechism was to be 
used, and in the third section, composed of those 
advanced in years and in understanding, the larger 
Heidelberg Catechism was to be used. This resolution, 
however, was not carried out in the Netherlands.* 
The " Kort Begrip," a brief summary of the catechism, 
was prepared later. 

In the present century also a summary was 
attempted, in which thirty-six of the most important 
questions are given a place, without abridgment or 
division, covering the entire ground of the catechism, 
for use in the schools and in the instruction of cate- 
chumens. This plan would certainly be preferable to 
the other two, were it not for one serious considera- 
tion. The Reformed Church, unlike the Lutheran 
Church, has but one brief and simple confession of 
faith, viz., the Heidelberg Catechism, which can be 
placed into the hands of every church member, while 
the Lutheran Church has at least six, some of which 
are quite voluminous, and this plan would soon drive 
the catechism from the homes of the people and leave 
only the abridged form. 

* Gisb. Voetius Tract, sel de polit. ecclesiast. Ser. II., p. 309. 
Amsterdam, 1887. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



497 



The simplest way is indicated already in the earlier 
•editions of the catechism, in which eighty-one ques- 
tions are marked with a *. In accordance with this 
arrangement the entire catechism was to be taught 
only in the four electoral colleges ; in the ordinary 
schools only these eighty-one questions were to be 
used, while in the primary schools the explanation of 
twenty-two questions was considered sufficient. With 
this number and with this selection of questions agree 
in general the regulations for the common schools of 
Lippe, issued October 18, 1873, according to which 
eighty-two questions are to be taught and explained in 
the schools, while the doctrine of the sacraments and 
the other unmarked questions are reserved for the 
catechetical instruction preparatory to confirmation. 
Instruction in the catechism is begun in the middle 
grades of the schools, for which thirty-two questions 
are designated with **, and the remaining fifty, marked 
with a single *, are added in the upper grades. These 
designations are retained in this commentary. The 
instruction in the catechism assigned to the schools is 
completed in the upper grades, from which children at 
the age of thirteen years enter upon instruction pre- 
paratory to confirmation, so that the schools work 
hand in hand with the Church. 

Soon after the selection of these eighty-one ques- 
tions, there appeared an admirable book of instruction* 
upon the same, in which both the theoretical and the 
practical sides received proper treatment. The old 
Reformed method of catechization, with its gratifying 
results, was based upon this guide. According to it, 
" the words of the text of the catechism, as well as 
some other subjects which might be obscure to the 
minds of the children, are to be first explained." Then 
" the contents of each question are to be vividly set 

* A copy of whicb, published in 1619, is lying before me. 



498 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



forth in very few words, rendering the understanding 
of the entire question quite easy." Then the answers 
are to be analyzed, their Scripture proofs cited, and 
both are to be explained. Firially " the children are 
to be drilled in the catechism" by the answers which 
they can frame out of the words of the catechism. 
" When," says the conclusion, "teachers and school- 
mistresses diligently instruct the youth in the cate- 
chism, according to this method and under the guid- 
ance of their pastors, we may confidently expect that 
these will obtain a fair knowledge of the fundamental 
principles of the Christian religion to the joy of their 
own and of their parents' hearts. This method of 
catechizing has been tried in several schools of this 
kind, and it was found to be easy, even after it had 
been in use only a short time. And they will discover 
further that by instructing their children in this way, 
they themselves will increase more and more in their 
knowledge of the Christian religion and in true piety. 
. . . May our faithful God pour out His holy Spirit,, 
in accordance with His promise, in rich measure upon 
our children that they may truly know and honor 
Him, be able to overcome the evil one, and thus 
become heirs of eternal life, through Jesus Christ, in 
whom all God's promises are yea and amen. Amen. 
Amen." 

The introductory directions cover fourteen pages ; 
then follows the catechism ; after which, in an appen- 
dix of fifty-two pages, illustrations of the method of 
procedure are given with individual questions. 

According to this guide catechetical training is 
divided into two parts : " Instruction" and " Exer- 
cises." " Instruction" is provided for three grades. It 
is not to be denied that the method is somewhat 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 499 

mechanical ; but it was the only guide accessible to 
the untrained catechists, and it was not only found 
necessary to repeat what was to be impressed upon the 
understanding, but a second part, called " Exercises," 
was found serviceable. By changing the form of the 
questions, the children were to be " drilled" to answer 
intelligently by using the words of the answers in the 
catechism. In this way it was hoped to prevent 
merely mechanical work on the part of both teachers 
and pupils. 

A guide to the " Exercises" is furnished in the 
practical examples which are given. 

By these " Exercises" on the one hand the children 
are to be brought to reflection, and their knowledge of 
the truth is to be made more clear and firm, while on 
the other hand the teachers will have the opportunity 
to gather from the answers what has been apprehended 
and what may need further explanation. 

In these times there is a disposition to speak dis- 
paragingly of this method, which in its essentials has 
held its place as the mode of catechetical instruction in 
the schools to this day, as scholastic. But it must be 
acknowledged in the main as the correct system, not 
only because its success has proved it to be so, but also 
because it is adapted to the relation of the schools to 
catechetical instruction. The chief ends of the latter 
are to be secured by the minister when he prepares his 
catechumens for confirmation, and the work of the 
school is to be looked upon as preparatory to this 
work. The Heidelberg Catechism makes this work 
very easy, and, besides its systematic structure, it has 
a great advantage over Luther's Smaller Catechism in 
that the material of the instruction need not first be 
supplied by the teacher, but is furnished in rich meas- 
ure and in systematic form by the answers of the cate- 



500 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



chism itself ; and to give the children a clear un- 
derstanding of it, that which they have already 
committed to memory needs only to be analyzed and 
explained.* On the other hand the child, after having 
committed so much to memory, has this advantage 
that it will not forget the explanations of the several 
doctrines so readily as when these are given orally, 
which must be done when the Lutheran Catechism is 
used. And lastly, this method not only makes the work 
•easier for the schools, but affords a certain guarantee 
to the Church that nothing can easily be introduced 
into catechetical instruction that is contrary to the 
doctrines which are based upon the Word of God, and 
which are supported by proof texts of the same.f 

In the light of my experience, during forty-one 
years of service (1891) in church work and in schools, 
and as the result of my own catechetical efforts, and of 
my observations in visiting schools in which the teach- 
ers have adhered to the traditional system, I would 
recommend the following methods of procedure. This 
commentary furnishes the requisite material for this 
purpose. 

* Nitzsch (Practical Theology, vol. II.) says that the Heidelberg 
Catechism is an admirably organized structure, since it is more than 
a collection of material for a catechism, while Luther's Smaller 
Catechism is more of a collection of " building material" than a 
structure. 

f Gisbert Voetius, 1. c. p. 309, decidedly commits himself to this 
method, which has maintained itself, although in his day also other 
methods were tried which served rather to darken and confuse the 
understanding than to enlighten it. When any one says that a 
number of the questions of our catechism, such as 1, 26, 60, and 
others, are too long and not adapted to pupils that are not advanced, 
I answer that it is the part of the work of catechization to separate 
these questions into their proper parts and to direct the children 
to frame the corresponding answers out of the text of the catechism, 
and that this method must be continued until the children have 
thoroughly mastered them. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



501 



1) Let the teacher himself read clearly and correctly 
the questions to be committed to memory at the time 
he assigns them, then let one or two of the children 
read them in the same way ; and for the sake of mak- 
ing the memorizing easier, let the teacher explain spe- 
cial expressions or constructions which are unfamiliar 
to the children. This will require but little time if 
the teacher confines himself to the purpose for which 
he makes explanation. 

2) When the questions are to be explained, let them 
first be recited, together with the proof texts, by a 
number of children. Let the teachers see to it that 
what has been committed to memory be neither 
drawled out nor declaimed, but that in a simple way 
only the principal words be emphasized. "Aufbeten" 
(to speak as one would a prayer) is the expression that 
was used by our forefathers and that is still in use in 
some localities. Then let the explanation take the fol- 
lowing course : 

a) When it is necessary, as is frequently the case, 
the answer is only the completion of the question of 
the catechist framed in such a way that the gist of the 
question of the catechism may be brought out in a 
brief answer. 

b) The answer of the catechism is then separated 
into its parts, so that the children may be led to frame 
their answers to the questions addressed to them out of 
the text of the catechism. 

c) Next the parts of the answer of the catechism are 
to be explained in such a way that the teacher himself 
will introduce the new matter and will at the same 
time bring to the recollection of the children, by means 
of questions, what they have already learned. The 
teacher, however, needs to guard against falling into 
the habit of using merely dry definitions, as was the 
case in the time of Dinter. The catechism was not, 
prepared as a mere manual of memory exercises. 



502 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



d) In connection with each part Scripture proofs 
pertaining to it are to be cited, and, if necessary, briefly 
explained (which has been kept in view throughout 
this commentary). These, however, are not intended 
to explain but to prove the different statements. 
According to the fundamental principle of our Church, 
reformed according to the Word of God, the purpose 
of these Scripture passages is to show how fully the 
doctrines of the catechism are in accord with the 
Scriptures. When a familiar example from Biblical 
history, or from life, or a proverb can be introduced 
naturally to illustrate a point, it is to be done to make 
the instruction more animated. It is not well, how- 
ever, to expand illustrations in all their fulness and 
detail, as this would take too much time and would 
interrupt the continuity of the instruction itself. They 
ought to be restricted to the point in hand. It is a 
very undesirable method to have the text of the cate- 
chism rehearsed without analysis and to have it fol- 
lowed by a bare recital of the proof texts. Such a 
course indicates that the teacher lacks both in industry 
and skill. 

3) In the last place, what has been explained is to 
be briefly reviewed. The same is to be done at the 
opening of the next lesson, in order to keep up the 
connection with what follows. For instruction in the 
catechism must not be, at least iu the upper grades, 
disconnected, but systematic. 

Catechetical instruction is to be given in the middle 
and upper grades of the school, while Bible- history 
begins in the lower grade, and is continued in the 
other two grades together with the catechism. In the 
middle grade, when one teacher gives the instruction 
in the three grades by himself, he may attach the 
explanation of particular questions of the catechism to 
the study of different events in Bible history without 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 503 



assigning a separate hour to instruct in the catechism.* 
In the upper grade most of the time set apart for relig- 
ious instruction is devoted to the catechism. How far 
the work is to be carried and what particular princi- 
ples of catechetical instruction are to be applied at dif- 
ferent times, must be decided by the teacher himself 
in the light of his normal training, and must be 
learned in part by experience. 

In the light of my own experience I can assure any 
one who 1) prepares himself thoroughly for catecheti- 
cal instruction, 2) follows the above method, 3) keeps 
within proper bounds, that he will be able, by the help 
of God, to advance the children entrusted to him in 
the knowledge of the catechism, according to their 
several gifts and capacities, as far as it is necessary and 
possible. One thing more. Religious instruction in 
the schools is not only to open the understanding to 
an apprehension of the truth revealed in God's saving 
Word, as this is apprehended in the questions of the 
catechism, but also to secure its experience in the heart. 
Only what proceeds from the heart reaches the heart, 
and such believing Christian experience is presupposed 
in all the questions of the Heidelberg Catechism. One 
is properly prepared, therefore, only when that prepa- 
ration is prayerfully made, and then the exercises of 
the catechism will also be edifying. The apostle 
James also gives good advice which is applicable to 
catechists (James 1 : 5) : "If any of you lack wisdom, 
let him ask of God, that givetii to all men liberally, 
and upbraideth not ; and it shall be given him." 

*In the course of instruction assigned for the schools of Lippe, 
Nov. 18, 1873, part 2, twentv oue historical incidents from the Old 
Testament and twenty-eight from the New are indicated, together 
with appropriate questions from the catechism for instruction in 
the middle grade. 



504 THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



As it is within the province of the schools to teach 
the catechism in preparation for the church, so in turn 
it is the duty of the church and the home to co-operate 
with the schools. Only where these three factors work 
in hearty unanimity can the true end of religious in- 
struction be attained. This was kept prominently in 
view when the Heidelberg Catechism was introduced, 
and accounts for the early reputation of the adherents 
of the Reformed faith, that both old and young were 
firmly established in the knowledge of saving truth, and 
though much persecuted, were willing and able to defend 
their faith. They provided for the furtherance and con- 
firmation of their people in the knowledge of Christian 
truth by means of catechetical instruction in the schools, 
catechetical instruction and sermons on the catechism 
in the church, and by home training. 

In the beginning neither a certain age nor a particu- 
lar day of the year was fixed for the admission or con- 
firmation of the youth. According to the Palatinate Di- 
rectory of Worship of 1563 (in the chapter on " Prepar- 
ation for the Holy Communion"*) after the celebration 
of the Lord's Supper has been announced to the con- 
gregation from the pulpit eight days in advance, 

" The minister shall admonish parents and heads of families 
to instruct during the week children and other youths (their ser- 
vants) whom they wished to bring to the table of the Lord for 
the first time, and on the following Saturday (at the preparatory 
service) or at an earlier day of the week (at the mid-week service), 



* The Lord's Supper shall be celebrated in the cities at least every 
month, in the towns every two months, and at Easter, Whitsunday 
and Christmas. When it seems to be necessary for the edification of 
the congregation, or the custom of the church requires it, it is right 
and proper that it should be observed more frequently. But when- 
ever the communion is to be celebrated, it shall invariably be an- 
nounced to the congregation by the minister eight days in advance, 
with the admonition that the entire congregation shall prepare itself 
for it. 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



505 



as the needs of the church required, thev were to be brought to 
the mini-ter after the sermon for further advice." 
After the preparatory service 

" The minister shall take his place before the communion table, 
and first of all shall admonish the young people present who had 
never communed before, to present themselves in order to make 
confession of their faith. Then the minister shall require those 
who have presented themselves to recite first the articles of the 
Creed, the Ten Commandments and the Lord's Supper. But as 
some, on account of their timidity, may not be able to repeat 
these articles word for word, who are in other respects blameless 
in their lives, the minister shall remind them of the chief articles 
of the Christian faith, and after this confession has been made, 
they shall be admitted with the congregation to the Lord's table." 

The Palatinate Directory of Worship gives the follow- 
ing directions concerning catechetical instruction and 
sermons on the catechism.* 

u Every Lord's Day afternoon at the hour most convenient a 
sermon shall be preached on the catechism. Where two ser- 
mons are preached in the afternoon, as is the case in the cities, 
after the singing of the hymn, God's blessing shall be invoked 
that His Word may be rightly understood, after which the sum- 
mary of the catechism, together with the proof texts of the five 
principal parts shall be distinctly read to the congregation at the 
beginning of the sermon in the order in which they are arranged. 
And several questions of the twenty following these parts shall 
be explained for half an hour. After the sermon the youth shall 
be examined and shall be dismissed with a prayer and benedic- 
tion and sent home. In the second sermon, preached later in the 
day, the catechism and the chief points of Christian doctrine 
which it embraces shall be explained more fully and exhaust- 
ively to the adult portion of the congregation. The service 
shall be opened as usual with an invocation, singing and prayer, 
after which a Scripture passage relating to the subject to be pre- 
sented, together with the questions of the catechism which are to 
be expounded, shall be read and intelligently explained. The 
service shall be closed with the prayer following the lesson, 
which is specially provided for use with the catechism (" The 

* Richter's edition, the Evangelical Church directories of the six- 
teenth century, Weimar, II., 260, not reprinted in full. 

39 



506 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



prayer after the sermon on the catechism"). In the country and 
in towns where but one sermon is preached in the afternoon, 
the minister, after the bell has been rung a second time for ser- 
vice, shall examine and catechize the youth before the sermon, 
and when he is through, the bell shall be rung a third time, 
that the whole congregation may be gathered. Then, after the 
singing and prayer, the summary of the catechism shall be read, 
after which several questions shall be explained for half an 
hour; then those called forward shall be kindly and consider- 
ately examined and instructed in the fundamental truths of sal- 
vation, and finally the service shall be closed with the usual 
prayer." — " In the cities the Sunday afternoon sermons shall 
cover the entire catechism once a year." 

Regulations with reference to catechetical instruction 
and sermons on the catechism similar to those pre- 
scribed by the Palatinate Directory of Worship were 
instituted in all the Reformed churches of Germany. 

At the Synod of Dort (15th session) the delegates of 
East Friesland (the pastors Eilshemius and Grimers- 
hemius of Emden) describe the catechetical arrange- 
ments that prevailed among them in the following man- 
ner : The schoolmasters are required to subscribe their 
names to a solemn agreement, that along with the other 
duties of their office they will devote themselves 
earnestly to catechetical instruction, and will diligently 
prosecute it with their scholars. The pastors, elders 
and school inspectors, therefore, make quarterly visits 
to the schools of their congregations, to assure them- 
selves of the industry of the teachers and of the progress- 
of the scholars in the knowledge of the catechism. On 
Sunday afternoon the schoolmasters bring their schol- 
ars regularly to the church service. The boys five 
and six years of age repeat the principal parts and 
questions of the catechism. Other scholars to the num- 
ber of thirty or forty recite from memory the questions 
which are to be explained in the sermon. When the 
children are dismissed from school, pious parents are in 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



507 



the habit of going over the catechism with them, espe- 
cially on the evening of festival days, and in order that 
they may not forget it, they make them recite it. 
When youths and maidens, as well as adults, are admit- 
ted to the Lord's Supper, they are publicly examined 
in the catechism in the presence of the entire congrega- 
tion, and they recite the same from memory, except the 
timid ones, who are examined privately. The minister 
who conducts the catechetical instruction, after prayer, 
himself quotes the five principal parts, after which the 
boys and girls recite the questions that are to be 
explained. The explanation, which is brief and com- 
prehensive, is followed by an edifying application. The 
catechism is gone over every six months, and in their 
annual pastoral visits the ministers admonish all their 
members, both young and old, to persevere faithfully 
in their study of the catechism. 

The Directory of Worship of Lippe of 1684, chapter 
VIII., gives detailed directions " concerning catechiza- 
tion and how the same is to be conducted." 

" As catechization which is founded upon the Word of God, 
and confirmed by the practice of the Church, is, according to the 
experience of all ages, a very important part of the office of the 
Christian ministry, so that without the same very little fruit can 
be expected from the preaching of the pulpit, because the hear- 
ers who have not been instructed and have no knowledge of the 
fundamental doctrines of Christianity, understand very little of 
what is preached to them, but continue in gross ignorance and 
unbelief ; not only in the schools, but also in the churches of 
these dominions, catechization shall be prosecuted with the great- 
est earnestness by the ministers, and where it is not yet intro- 
duced, it shall be introduced without delay, and shall be culti- 
vated no less assiduously thau the preaching of the Word, in 
order that by this blessed means they may diligently and faith- 
fully instruct not only the youth, but also adults who are with- 
out a knowledge of the chief doctrines of the Christian faith, 
and bring them to a true knowledge ot God in Christ, and to 
Christian, God-fearing life and conduct. 



508 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 



" To this end parents, fathers and mothers, shall not only ad- 
monish and urge their children and servants with all earnest- 
ness, but are also to go before them in the way of example, so- 
that young and old will attend as often and as faithfully as pos- 
sible catechetical instruction in the church. 

" Catechization shall be conducted in the following manner : 
the minister in his place after having preached on the Lord's 
Day a sermon on the catechism, shall politely invite the youth 
into the choir or some other suitable place in the church, that 
he may examine them and thus ascertain what they have learned 
of Christian doctrine from the sermon, or in school or from 
their parents.* 

" In congregations in the country, where during the winter on 
account of the shortness of the days no afternoon sermon is 
preached, the minister shall nevertheless catechize in the after- 
noon the older youths, especially those who desire to be admitted 
to the Lord's Supper in the near future. f 

" In large and extensive parishes the children shall be divided 
into classes for catechetical instruction on Sunday. These class- 
es shall recite the catechism in turn, but all shall be required to 
be present and to listen. A roll shall be kept and in cases of 
absence the parents shall be earnestly admoni-hed. 

*This regulation is in accord with the resolution adopted by the 
Synod of Dort at the conclusion of its deliberations upon catecheti- 
cal instruction (sessions 114-117, Nov. 27-30.1618): " In order 
that the Christian youths from their earliest years may be instructed 
with the utmost care in the fundamental doctrines of religion, 
threefold catechetical instruction shall be observed : in the home by 
the parents, in the schools by the teachers, in the churches by the 
ministers and elders. Accordingly parents are to instruct their 
children and servants at home in the primary truths of Christian 
doctriue, shall frequently urge them to prayer and the fear of God,, 
shall take them with them to church, especially to the sermons on 
the catechism, shall review the.se sermons with them at home, and 
shall require them t ) commit to memory important Scriptural 
passages." 

■f In the Directory of Worship, chap. X., p. 7, it is stated : 
" Such confirmation of catechumens shall take place twice a year 
on the Sunday preceding the semi annual fast-days (Good Friday 
and the fast-day in September), as may be m >st agreeable or 
suitable." 



THE HEIDELBERG CATECHISM. 509 



" Fn their catechetical instruction the ministers shall proceed 
carefully, and as spiritual fathers shall not only deal kindly and 
gently, yet earnestly when necessary, with the catechumens, but 
also in all their questions and instruction shall have regard for 
the capacity, age and understanding of their catechumens. 

" The catechization shall proceed according to the order and 
divisions of the Heidelberg Catechism, so that the questions 
and answers, which are to be treated in the sermon, shall be 
used afterward in the catechization, and whenever possible the 
entire catechism shall be covered every year. 

"'No minister shall be allowed to introduce a new or special 
catechism, but each one must retain the Heidelberg Catechism, 
and must explain its questions and answers with sufficient sim- 
plicity to enable all to understand them. 

" The catechization shall aim not only to impart a knowledge 
of the truth to the catechumens, but also to exhibit with the 
utmost clearness the power and beauty of true godliness which 
is embraced in every fundamental article of the Christian faith. 

" Besides, every preacher shall, after having preached a ser- 
mon, hold catechetical instruction on other days of the week, or 
at other suitable hours, either in the church or in his own 
house, which shall be attended by all children who can con- 
veniently do so." 

If the Heidelberg Catechism is ever to bring its 
richest blessings again into our Reformed congrega- 
tions, and the ancient loyalty to Scripture is to regain 
its supremacy, the schools, the Church and the family 
must co-operate in every way possible and with the 
greatest earnestness to re-establish faithful catechet- 
ical instruction, and the Reformed method of catechiz- 
ing must be revived. 



DOCTRINAL INDEX. 



Altar, 268, 285. 

Angels, 53, 94. 

Atonement, 150, 49, 134, 33. 

Baptism, 251. 

Bible (see Word of God and 
Gospel). 

Christ, 110. 

Cnrist's Ascension, 177, 234. 

" Incarnation, 138. 

" Intercession, 183. 

" Offices, 119. 

" Person, 54, 56, 179. 

" Second Coming, 194. 

" Session, 186. 
Christian, 124, 133. 
Church, 209. 
Church Discipline, 302. 
Communion of Saints, 218. 
Confirmation, 261. 
Conscience, 9. 
Covetousness, 400. 
Creation, 93. 
Creation of Man, 21. 
Creed, Apostles', 81. 

Death, 164. 
Depravity, 36. 
Devil, 3, 95. 

Election, 217, 218. 
Eternal Life, 229. 

Faith, 74, 1, 10, 231. 
Fall, 25. 



False Witness, 397. 
Forgiveness, 221, 433. 

God, 83. 

Good Works, 313. 
Gospel, 59, 81. 

Heaven, 229. 
Hell, 169. 

Holy Ghost, 75, 141, 201, 

242. 
Home, 376. 

Idolatry, 341, 353. 
Images, Use of, 355. 
Inability, Human, 17, 51. 
Intercession of Saints, 113, 345. 

Judgment Day, 194, 225. 
Justice of God, 41, 49, 159. 
Justification by Faith, 116, 221, 
232. 

Justification by Works, 115, 
237. 

Law of God, 9, 44, 60. 
Licentiousness, 387. 
! Lord's Prayer, 416. 
Lord's Supper, 267. 

Man, the Image of God, 23. 
Man, Old and New, 166, 317. 
Mediator, 53. 
Murder, 380. 

Oaths, 364. 



512 



DOCTRINAL INDEX. 



Parents and Children, 376. 
Perseverance of Saints, 217. 
Prayer, 405. 
Profanity, 360. 
Providence, 102, 157, 430. 

Kedemption (see Atonement). 
Eesurrection, 172, 224. 

Sabbath, 368. 
Sacraments, 242. 
Satisfaction of Christ(see Atone- 
ment). 



Scripture (see Word of God). 
Sin, 8, 33, 105. 
Sins, Classes of, 34. 

Temptation, 27, 436. 
Ten Commandments, 302. 
Theft, 392. 
Trinity, 83. 

Ubiquity, 182. 

Union With Christ, 74. 

Word of God, 242, 59, 81, 248. 



DEC o : 1899 




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